Littlest Exorcist
by Mei-chan4
Summary: When Allen finds a small girl with angel wings in an alley, he convinces Cross to allow them to take her in. Now, little Claire follows Allen wherever he goes, including the Black Order. Will she be able to fit in or will she drive Kanda insane?
1. Little Angel in the Alley

**Well…I needed a story for Thursdays….**

**If you are new to my stories, then welcome! I am Mei-chan4 and I write stories in which the characters somehow or another obtain a small child and how they deal with said child. This is mine and my co-creator's, Sakura02, take on what it would be like for the -Man characters.**

**For those of you that read my stories, I hope you enjoy this one as much as you do my others!**

**Everyone, please enjoy!**

* * *

Twelve year old Allen sighed as he laid on the small bed in his small hotel room. Really, his master couldn't wait to get out on the town and drink away all their money. Well, it wouldn't do him any good to simply sulk in his hotel room. With another deep sigh, he stood up from his bed and left the hotel, deciding to explore his surroundings.

He didn't know how long he had been wandering around when he heard a strange noise coming from the alleyway directly beside him. Allen paused and listened carefully. "Is someone there?" He called softly. After waiting a few moments and no answer, he made his way into the alley. He didn't get very far when he saw just what was making the noise.

A small girl sat huddled against the wall. She couldn't have been older than three and she was much too scrawny for her age. Her hair may have been blonde but Allen couldn't tell from all the dirt clinging to her stringy hair. Her eyes were a dull green that stared listlessly ahead. Her thin legs were pulled to her chest and her dingy dress hung tattered around her knees. The girl's eyes slowly glanced over at Allen.

"Hello there." Allen smiled warmly at the little girl. "What are you doing in such a scary place like this?"

"Waiting…" She answered so faintly Allen barely heard her. She winced as her stomach growled loudly.

Allen continued to smile. "Waiting for who?"

"My mommy…she said she'd be back…but she's been gone a long time…" The girl answered.

"What's your name?" Allen asked. He reached out and smoothed the girl's wild hair down.

"Claire…"

"Well, Claire, I'm Allen Walker. It's nice to meet you. Are you hungry, Claire?" Allen smiled as a for a brief moment light flashed in Claire's eyes. He could feel from her something similar to himself.

Claire chewed thoughtfully on her lip. "But…I'm supposed to wait for Mommy…"

Allen continued to smile warmly as he held his hand out to her. "It's okay. I'll help you find your mommy, okay? Let's get you fed and cleaned up."

Claire hesitated a moment before putting her tiny, pale hand into Allen's gloved one. "Okay…"

* * *

Allen hummed as he checked the water in the bathtub. It was just right for little Claire. He smiled warmly at the little girl standing nervously in the doorway. She seemed more alive after she had wolfed down three steaks, a bowl of soup, five orders of mashed potatoes and twelve glasses of milk. Allen wondered idly where she packed it all but decided he couldn't judge considering how much he ate. "Claire, the bath is ready."

Claire hesitantly stepped forward. She peered nervously into the full bath. She looked at Allen briefly for reassurance before taking off her dirty dress and jumping into the bath.

To say Allen was startled when a pair of wings popped out of Claire's back would be an understatement. He watched in fascination as she went about scrubbing herself clean, not at all concerned about the white wings with black tips protruding from her back. "Um…Claire…what are those?"

Claire blinked as she paused in cleaning her arm. "They're my angel wings. Mommy gave them to me. Can you help me wash my hair, Allen-ni?"

"Oh…sure." Allen was silent as he gently washed Claire's hair. As more and more of the dirt disappeared, Allen realized Claire's hair was indeed blonde. It was an almost blonde white color. "How did your mommy give you your wings?"

"She gave me this pretty shiny thing and fed it to me. It hurt at first but I got my wings so it's okay." Claire smiled brightly up at Allen. "I'm all clean, Allen-ni. Can I go to sleep now?"

Allen helped Claire out of the bath and dried the small girl off. He loaned her one of his shirts and took his time gently combing Claire's hair out. He wondered if her wings were similar to his arm. He gave her his bed and tucked her in. "Sleep well, Claire."

Claire yawned and snuggled under the covers. It had been a while since she had gotten to sleep in a bed. "Will we look for my mommy in the morning?"

"Of course." Allen reassured. He leaned against the bed and soon nodded off to sleep along with Claire.

* * *

"Who the hell is this kid!?"

Allen groaned as he woke up to a rather irritated looking Cross. He glanced over and was relieved to see Claire was still sound asleep. "Please don't wake her up, Master. This is Claire. I found her in an alleyway and brought her back. She has wings on her back…"

Cross frowned and strode over to the bed. He lifted the covers and saw that there were indeed wings. He gently stroked one of the feathers, noting how Claire's small body shuddered. "Innocence…"

"She doesn't have any family, Master. Her mother just left her in the alleyway." Allen said quietly.

"No way." Cross said firmly. "There is no way I'm dragging another kid around. It was bad enough with you."

Claire yawned as she finally woke up. She sat up and rubbed her sleepy green eyes. She looked around before her eyes landed on Cross. "Who are you?"

"Claire, this is my master, Cross." Allen said.

"Oh, nice to meet you Mr. Cross." Claire smiled sleepily.

Cross looked at the bright eyes of Claire and then down at Allen's pleading. He looked back and forth between the two. Finally, he sighed in resignation. "All right, she can stay."

Allen grinned. "Thank you, Master."

Cross watched Allen painstakingly prepare Claire for the day. They'd have to buy her clothes which would be a pain. Then again, women did love men with small children…

Neither Allen nor Claire noticed the sly grin on Cross's face.

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**And that's the end of the first chapter. Please review and let me know your thoughts! **


	2. Another Day

**Wow, I'm so glad everyone liked this story! I've been looking forward to writing this one for a while and was hoping it would get a positive response! **

**Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have a wonderful 2010!**

**Goldenfightergirl: Maybe…. :)**

**Thank you: Sakura02, Twilight Dark Angel, vampuppy, PokeMariah, 100thAngel, Fanfic-AddictYuki, ADDBaby, SaiyukiSucker, Angel Fantasy, Bonds of Hatred, Treia, .Sonata, and Song of the Curse Child for reviewing!!!**

* * *

"Yup," Cross puffed his chest out proudly as the five women cooed at Claire. "I found the poor thing in an alleyway abandoned. I took her in and I've been taking care of her for the past three years."

Claire blinked up at him. She was now six years old. Her hair was now long, stopping just above her waist and slightly curled at the bottom. Despite all the food she ate, she was a rather petite child. "But, Master, I thought it was All—"

"There you are!" Allen stormed into the bar. He glared at Cross and quickly yanked Claire up and away from the women. "I've told you not to bring Claire into places like this!"

"Hi, Allen." Claire grinned up at Allen and kissed his cheeks. She held up a golden necklace with an emerald dangling from it. "Look what the pretty lady gave me."

Allen smiled warily at the women waving at him. "Let's go back, Claire."

"Bye-bye, Pretty Ladies! Bye, Master Cross!" Claire waved at the group as Allen carried her out of the bar and back to their current home. Claire grinned as she wriggled from Allen's grip and ran into the small main room. She spun around the room. "I'm bored now, Allen. Let's play a game."

Allen smiled warmly at her. Ever since that day he had found Claire, she had been traveling with him and Cross. She seemed to have forgotten her mission to find her mother after the first couple of months with the two men and seemed to consider Cross and Allen the only family she had ever had. "What do you want to play?"

Claire tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment. Her eyes lit up. "Hide and Seek! I'm gonna hide first. You have to count to fifty, Allen." She didn't wait for Allen to respond as she ran from the small house.

She hadn't meant to run so far from the house but she was sure Allen would find her. Claire giggled as she hid in an alleyway similar to the one Allen had found her in three years ago. She knew he would find her; he always did. Every time they played Hide and Seek, Allen would always find Claire no matter where she hid.

"What a tasty looking little girl."

Claire spun around. An Akuma was hovering in the entrance to the alleyway; she was trapped. Having lived with Cross and Allen for the last three years of her life, Claire was familiar with Akuma, Exorcist, and Innocence. She knew that her wings were a parasitic type Innocence. She glared at the Akuma and crossed her arms. "Go away. I'm playing with Allen right now."

The Akuma paused for a moment before laughing. "Silly little girl, I don't think you know what it is you're dealing with."

"You're an Akuma. A human soul trapped by the Millennium Earl and forced to do his bidding. Now, go away." Claire shooed the Akuma way with her hand.

"Little brat!" The Akuma howled. It pointed its guns at her.

Claire sighed and rolled her eyes. "Innocence, activate!" She quickly flew up into the air to avoid the shots. She pulled her wings back as far as they would go before sending feathers sharpened by Innocence towards the Akuma. She landed gracefully as the Akuma disappeared and deactivated her Innocence.

"Excellent work, Claire." Cross grinned at Claire from the entrance to the alleyway. "You've gotten better at using your Innocence."

"Master Cross!" Claire ran over to him and hugged the general tightly. She beamed as Cross affectionately patted her on the head. "Did you have fun with the ladies?"

Cross hid his lecherous smirk from the small girl. "Yes, Claire, I did." He knelt down to Claire's level and smoothed her hair so that it framed her pale face. "I can't believe how much you've grown. You get prettier and prettier with each year."

"Did you smoke some of the funny grass again, Master Cross?" Claire asked.

"No, not today." Cross laughed. His face turned serious again. "Listen to me, Claire. I'm going away."

Claire was silent for a moment as her jade eyes stared into Cross's. Her face became panicked at the dead serious look on his face. "No…No…No you can't leave! You can't leave me!" She attempted to struggle away but Cross grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Shhh, Claire, calm down. You need to listen to me." Cross soothed.

"No!" Claire struggled and tried to hit Cross. "You're abandoning me just like my mom did! You can't! You can't leave me!"

"Claire, Angel, my sweet little angel, I promise I'll see you again." Cross forced the distraught child to look up at him. "You and Allen are going to go to the Black Order's Headquarters. You're going to become a full fledged Exorcist."

Claire bit her lip to keep her tears from falling. "So why aren't you going with us? You're an Exorcist too."

"Frankly, Claire Bear, I hate that place." He smiled as Claire laughed at his nickname for her. "I need you to go with Allen and protect him, okay? Can you be a big girl and do that for me?"

Claire chewed her lip thoughtfully. She then held Cross's face in between her hands. "Promise I'll see you again, Master Cross?"

"Yes."

"Then, I'll take care of Allen." Claire promised.

"Good." Cross stood up and brushed his pants free of dust. "You might want to go check on him. I may have hit him too hard on the head this time…"

* * *

Claire smiled as Allen opened his eyes. "Hi, Allen." She giggled as Timcanpy landed on her shoulder. "Is your head okay?"

Allen blinked up at Claire. "I believe so. Claire we're supposed to…"

"Go to the Black Order." She finished. "I know. Master Cross told me." She stood up and held her hand out to Allen. "So, let's go."

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**Hope you guys liked it! Review please!!**


	3. The Abandoned Church

**Sorry I disappeared. Sick and then school attacked me.**

**Sakura02: Bah, sleep is for the week and feeble minded. **

**Bonds of Hatred: How'd you know!? :P **

**Mina: Aw, your email didn't show up. If you wanna talk, drop me a pm :)**

**Thank you so much: Goldenfightergirl, xWeaselxWolfx, Fanfic-AddictYuki, Angel Fantasy, Song of the Cursed Child, chibi-chan, Allen-Musician1245, SaiyukiSucker, camitake, Rakuen91, lovelyanimeangel, and Chocolate and caramel for reviewing!**

* * *

"Claire!" Allen ran frantically to where he heard the crying coming from. He finally found Claire curled up in the hallway of the abandoned church bawling her eyes out. "What's wrong, Claire?"

"I…I…I lost the kitty!" Claire wailed. She quickly attached herself to Allen's waist much like a baby monkey clings to its mother.

Allen chuckled and patted her blonde head. "It's okay. I'm sure we'll find the cat soon." He tensed suddenly. "In fact…"

Claire squealed as they were suddenly flying through the air in a swirl of bats. "There he is!" She screamed as she saw the cat in the arms of a strange woman. She remained attached to Allen as he slammed the woman into the chair. "Allen, you should be more gentle with a lady. That's what Master Cross says."

Allen blinked slowly as he realized that there was indeed a woman attached to the cat. "Ah, I'm so—" His sentence was cut off as the woman, whom was in fact a cop, handcuffed him.

The woman glared angrily at him once she noticed Claire. "Who are you!? What are you doing with that child!?"

Claire giggled as she remained attached to Allen. "This is Allen and I'm Claire!"

The cop stood up slowly and held her arms out. "Sweetie, Claire, come here."

Claire looked from Allen to the police officer. "Okay!" She released her death grip on Allen and skipped over to the cat sitting on the floor. She didn't pay much attention as the officer cuffed Allen to the window and began questioning him. Instead, she began rubbing the cat's tummy. "Can you give me my friend back Mr. Kitty Cat? I really miss him."

She felt a sudden chill crawl through her body as an ear piercing scream rang through the church. Claire watched the officer run out of the room, leaving her and Allen alone. "Allen…"

"Go with her." Allen smiled tensely. "Just in case."

"Not until you're free." Claire stated firmly. She unfurled her wings and fluttered up to the window to untie Allen. "Master Cross told me to take care of you so that's what I'm going to do."

Allen smiled gratefully at Claire as he rubbed his wrist. "Hold the cat. Make sure it doesn't go anywhere. Wait here for me."

"No way." Claire scooped the rather large cat up before chasing after Allen. "You can't just leave me alone. Who knows what might happen to me."

By the time the two reached the officer, poisonous gas was filling the abandoned church. Claire quickly covered the cat's nose. When the cat tilted it's head up to look at her, she smiled brightly. "It's okay. The gas can't hurt me because I'm special. Don't worry though. I'll take care of you."

"Ah, she fainted!" Allen began to panic as he held the unconscious officer in his arms. "What should we do, Claire?"

"Take her to the police station." Claire stated plainly. "I'm sure they'll believe us if we tell them it was an Akuma attack."

* * *

"Why do I listen to you?" Allen sighed. His hands were currently cuffed in front of him while Claire sat in a chair beside him with the cat in her lap.

Claire giggled as she pet the cat. "It's not like we can't get away whenever we want."

At that moment, an angry heavyset man stormed into the room. He plopped down in the seat across from Allen. Shortly after, the officer from the church appeared as well.

"Hi Miss Police Officer!" Claire waved one hand wildly at the confused woman.

The man across from Allen glared at him angrily. "Allen Walker, unknown address, underage, and unknown country of origin." He cut his eyes over to where Claire was whistling happily. "Claire. No last name. unknown address, underage, and unknown country of origin." He slammed his hands down on the table and pointed an accusing finger at Allen. "You killed Charles and are training this sweet young lady to be your apprentice! Admit it!"

Claire puffed her cheeks out in anger as the man continued hounding Allen. She suddenly leapt up onto the table, placed the cat between Allen's arms, and stood protectively in front of Allen with her arms out. "Don't talk to Allen like that! He didn't do anything wrong! He saved Miss Police Officer!"

"Don't try and defend him!" The man snapped. He reached around her and pulled Allen's hands up. "Look at this red hand! It must be blood…" His voice trailed off as he noticed the strange cross symbol on the back of Allen's hand. "What the hell is that!?"

"I have it too!" Claire, ignoring the startled gasp and the sigh of acceptance from Allen, yanked her dress off and turned around so her back was to the officers. Indeed, there was the exact same cross burned into her back.

"Claire, what have Master and I told you about taking your clothes off in public?" Allen asked patiently.

"Um…not to?" Once again ignoring the screaming man, Claire put her dress back on before wriggling her way into Allen's lap with his handcuffed hands around her. She snuggled the cat and giggled at how flustered the inspector was.

"Sir, both the boy and the girl were with me when Charles was killed." The officer said almost timidly.

The man's face reddened as another officer whispered something to him. "Why'd you fall unconscious, Officer Moore Hesse!? You didn't even see the culprit!"

"If I may," Allen said softly. "I, that is, Claire and I," he added at the pout Claire gave him. "both know 'what the culprit is'. It's called an Akuma. It gains experience and evolves from the people it kills. The cross' Claire and I bear are symbols of anti-Akuma weapons that a group known as Exorcists wield."

Claire felt a shudder run through her body. Wiggling out of Allen's arms, she ran to the window. She peered out and for a brief moment saw a top hat and umbrella in the crowd. She blinked and it was gone.

* * *

Moore sighed as she helped Claire and Allen settle into their guest room. She gave them a firm glare. "Now, you two stay here. Don't leave." She frowned as she noticed for the first time how tattered Claire's dress that may have once been white was. "Don't you have some other clothes?"

"Not really." Claire stated as she looked up from playing with the cat. "Master Cross sold all my clothes so he could have more money for his lady friends."

Moore felt a migraine coming on. "I'll see if I have something for you." With that, she left the room.

Claire went over to the large window and stared out. "Allen, are we going back to the church soon?"

"Yeah, in fact…" Allen held a finger to his lips and motioned for Claire to follow him. The two attempted to make a quiet escape but the cat thwarted their attempts.

Moore was their in a flash, a dress hanging over her arms. "You two were trying to go back to the church!" She rolled her eyes at their guilty faces. She held the dress out to Claire. "Go change. Allen and I will be in the study."

Claire puffed her cheeks out as she went back into the room to change. She slipped the dress over herself and smiled. It had been a while since she had had clean clothes. She spun around in the long sleeved pink dress with white lace trim. She skipped off to the study wanting to show off the outfit. She paused mid-step when she saw the man in the wheelchair approaching. "What's wrong with you, Mister?"

The man said nothing. Quick as lightning, his arm reached out and pulled Claire into a tight chokehold. He continued wheeling down the hallway, occasionally tightening his grip when Claire struggled.

"A…All…Allen…" Claire managed to gasp out as the man stopped in the study doorway.

"Brother Mark, what are you doing!?" Moore yelled in horror.

"Claire, get away from him!" Allen shouted, realizing what Mark was.

Claire would've rolled her eyes if she could. She unfurled her wings and pushed herself away from the man's grasp as he became no longer a man, but an Akuma. "Miss Moore, get away from him!" She was at Allen's side in an instant.

Thinking quickly, Allen grabbed both Claire, Moore, and the cat as the Akuma launched an attack at them. "Hold on!"

Claire gasped out as they collided with the inner wall of the abandoned church. She looked down at the cat in her arms and tears began to well in her eyes at the sight of the stars appearing all over his body. "Mr. Kitty Cat…" The cat shattered a moment later. Visibly upset, Claire held the pieces in her tiny hands as the tears fell from her eyes.

"No time for crying right now." Allen said softly as he wiped her tears away. "We have a job to do."

"I know…" Claire bit the inside of her cheeks to stop the flow of tears. She stood up as the Akuma appeared in front of them. She suddenly stiffened. "Allen, you take care of the Akuma!" Before anyone could tell her otherwise, Claire flew through the hole in the wall and out into the cold air. She flew around the city for a moment before coming to the graveyard. She landed and looked around.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" A chilling voice asked.

Claire stared at the strange man on top of a gravestone. "Are you the Millennium Earl?"

"That's one of my names, yes." The Earl sang as he skipped around the graveyard. "My, my, how you've grown. So, you're an Exorcist now. How strange considering your parents."

"You knew my mother?" Claire asked.

"And father." The Earl added. He noticed the hard look that crossed Claire's face. "What's wrong? You don't like your father?"

"I never knew him." Claire huffed out. "He abandoned my mother."

"Well, I wish I could stay and play with you, Claire dear, but I must be off." The Earl opened up his umbrella and began to float through the air. "Until next time!~"

"Weirdo." Claire muttered under her breath. She flew back to the church to find both Allen and Moore safe. She flew into Allen's awaiting arms and breathed in his scent. "Did you save the Akuma soul?"

"Yeah." Allen answered tiredly. He blinked as something moved in the ashes of the cat. "Timcanpy!"

Claire squealed excitedly and hugged the golem tightly. "I missed you!"

Allen stood up on shaky legs. "Well, we better get out of here, Claire. We need to find the Black Order."

"Already?" Claire pouted. She looked down at the dress she was wearing and then at Moore.

Moore smiled. "My sister's name was Claire too. That was her dress when she was a child. I'd like for you to have it."

As Allen and Claire walked away hand in hand, Claire looked up at her companion. "Can we come see Miss Moore again soon?"

"Maybe…" Allen said.

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**Bah, don't like the ending but oh well. Reviews please!**


	4. The Boy on Rollerskates

**Angel Fantasy: Yeah, I wasn't too happy with the last chapter either. I hope this one is better!**

**Sakura02: She was! I totally didn't realize it until I was writing this chapter.**

**SayukiSucker: Aw, thanks! I am feeling much better this week around :)**

**Bonds of Hatred: I know! I'm almost tempted to just skip all this extra stuff and get straight to the Black Order.**

**Thanks: lilanimefan247, Allen-Musician1245, tawnyeyes10, Song of the Cursed Child, lovelyanimeangel, Rakuen91, and Icealeena for reviewing!**

* * *

Claire yawned as a particularly rough bump in the road jolted her from her strange sleep. She had been dreaming of her mother again. Rubbing her eyes, Claire lifted her head from Allen's lap in time for Timcanpy to fly into her hair. She giggled as Timcanpy nested in her tangled blonde locks. "Hi, Timcanpy. Did you get scared by another cat?"

"You're hair is messy again." Allen sighed as he ran his fingers through Claire's hair in an attempt to detangle it.

"I'll brush it later." Claire promised as she swung her legs over the edge of the wagon. She smiled as she now held Timcanpy in her hands and cooed to the golem.

"Are you two sightseeing in this town?" Asked one of the performers that had allowed Allen and Claire to ride on their wagon. She wore a strange bunny head over her own. At least, Claire hoped she had a normal head beneath the rabbit one.

"No." Allen continued his vain quest to tame Claire's hair. "We're simply passing through on our way to the Black Order."

Claire blinked a few moments later as Allen rested heavily against her. She looked up to find him sound asleep. With an affectionate smile and the help of a clown, Claire laid Allen down with his head in her lap. She continued to kick her legs as Allen slept soundly.

"Is he your brother?" The lady inquired.

"Nope." Claire whispered, not wanting to wake Allen up. She knew he never got as much sleep as he should.

"Your uncle?" The clown guessed.

"Nope." Claire smiled as Timcanpy landed on her shoulder and nuzzled her face. "He's my Allen."

Allen suddenly shot up in Claire's lap and shuddered. He gripped the edge of the wagon tightly and breathed heavily. He blinked when he felt a small hand patting his back comfortingly.

"Were you dreaming about Master again?" Claire asked.

Before Allen could answer, a shout of 'Akuma' nearly knocked him off his feet. Squinting, he could see a large group of people down an alleyway. He leapt off the wagon. "Let's go, Claire!"

Claire jumped off after him. She curtsied to the group of entertainers. "Thanks for letting us ride with all of you." She ran off after Allen, finally catching up to him as he rounded a corner.

"Are you okay!?" Allen asked the large group, alarm in his voice.

A bald man glared down at a young boy no older than Claire. "You see what you've done now, Jan!"

"I'm not kidding!" The boy yelled. He rolled back and forth on his roller skates, his arms behind his head. He wore a leather helmet with goggles on his head and a striped shirt with simple pants on. "This guy got turned into an Akuma!" Jan shouted as he pointed at a homeless man with a hoodie on.

Claire tensed as the man grabbed Jan and covered his mouth. Though she wasn't able to see Akuma like Allen was, she could always get a feeling when someone was indeed an Akuma. The presence of an Akuma rolled off the man in waves. She blinked as Allen held her in place until the other adults had dispersed.

As soon as she blinked, Allen was no longer by her side. She saw his arm slice through the top of the Akuma's head. Once the Akuma had released Jan, Claire grabbed his hand and yanked him away from the Akuma. She grinned at him as he blinked at her. "Don't worry, Allen'll take care of the Akuma."

Allen smiled over at Jan as soon as the Akuma had disappeared. "Tell me, Jan, how do you know so much about Akuma." He didn't have time to react as Jan tackled him to the stone ground.

Claire laughed for a moment before realizing that Allen wasn't moving. She rushed over and cried out. "You killed Allen!"

Jan panicked. "I didn't mean to!"

"I-I'm fine." Allen weakly muttered out. He attempted to sit up but his efforts were squashed as Claire tackled him back to the ground.

Allen finally managed to stop the two children from tackling him anymore. As the trio walked towards Jan's house, Allen listened as Jan prattled on about his father. Allen blinked when Jan stopped talking and simply stared at him. He rubbed self-consciously at his face. "What?"

Jan sighed in disappointment. "I didn't think Exorcist would be so weak looking. I always thought they were macho guys."

Claire huffed and pushed Jan. "Not all Exorcist are guys."

Jan glared at her before pushing her back. "I've never heard of a girl Exorcist before."

"I'm a girl and an Exorcist!" Claire shouted as she shoved Jan a little harder.

"No way!" Jan pushed her harder. "There's no way someone as tiny as you could be an Exorcist. I bet you don't even have an Anti-Akuma weapon."

"Do too!" Claire unfurled her wings and floated a few feet off the ground.

Jan rolled his eyes. "Big deal. You can fly around." He wouldn't admit that he thought her wings were rather cool looking.

"That's enough!" Allen yanked Claire out of the air and sat her firmly on the ground. He had seen her pulling her wings back, a sign she was about to let a spray of razor sharp feathers fly. "Claire, put your wings away. Jan, she is an Exorcist too. Now, you two play nice together."

Jan pouted before a smile once again lit his features. "Allen, how many Akuma have you destroyed? How did you get an Anti-Akuma weapon? What was it like to destroy your first Akuma?"

Allen smiled sadly at Jan for a moment. "You shouldn't do things that will draw the Millennium Earl's attention to you. It's dangerous."

Jan glared at Allen before throwing a strange looking onion at him. The 'onion' went off and gas poured out of it. Claire cried out as the gas got in her eyes and caused her to cry. She rubbed at her eyes furiously. "I can't see, Allen!" She could hear Jan's laughter as he skated away. "I'm going after him!"

Before Allen could protest, Claire had unfurled her wings and flown after Jan. He sighed as he rubbed at his eyes. Now he had to go find her.

Claire couldn't see well but she could hear Jan's skates getting closer and closer. Rubbing her eyes, she made out his form just ahead of her. Picking up speed, she tackled Jan to the ground. "Fix my eyes right now!"

Jan was about to make fun of her but bit his tongue when he saw her crying. She looked like a crying angel with her wings out and the tears flowing down her cheeks. He sighed. It wasn't like she had treated him like he was a kid. He took her hand in his and skated slowly along as she glided beside him. "Sorry."

Claire sniffed as she continued rubbing her eyes. She made out the shape of a rather large house which Jan entered. She deactivated her wings before they walked through the door and allowed Jan to lead her to his room.

"Wait here." Jan said as he sat her down in a rather large, plush chair. He returned a moment later with a small water basin and washcloth. He dabbed gently at her eyes with the cloth. "Any better?"

Claire blinked. She could see much better now and her eyes didn't sting nearly as much. "Thanks." She muttered out. She looked around the room they were in with awe. She had never seen so many vials and beakers in her life. "Are you a scientist?"

Jan shrugged sheepishly, clearly pleased with himself. "My dad is. He works for the Vatican or something like that. I want to be a great scientist like him someday." He sat in the same chair as Claire and grinned at her. "What do you wanna do now?"

Claire frowned before pushing Jan out of the chair. "You can't sit next to me."

Jan pouted as he sat up. "Why not? It's my chair."

"Because you have cooties. My Master says all boys have cooties except for Master and Allen." Claire crossed her arms.

Before Jan could reply, a loud knock sounded at the door. "Quick, hide!" Jan hissed. He shoved Claire behind the large chair before going over to answer the door.

Claire huffed as she peeked around the chair. She didn't like being shoved around so much. She blinked when a boy the same age as Jan walked in. He seemed harmless enough until Claire looked into his eyes. She shuddered at how dead they were.

"Come out, Claire!" Jan grinned as he pulled her out from behind the chair. "I want you to meet my friend Leo! Me and him patrol for Akuma."

Leo smiled at her but said nothing. He held his hand out Claire, waiting for her to take it.

Claire glared at him and stood in front of Jan. Her entire body was screaming at her to attack. She gripped Jan's hand tightly and gave Leo a strained smile. "Nice to meet you." She ground out. There was no way she was letting Leo out of her sight. She tuned Jan out as he talked to Leo. While he sat in the chair, she stood beside him, her eyes following Leo's every movement.

"I even saw the face of the Millennium Earl today!" Jan said excitedly. "An Akuma attacked me but Claire and her friend saved me. Claire's an Exorcist! Here, I'll draw you a picture of the Millennium Earl."

Claire shuddered as Leo smiled rather creepily at her. She stood protectively in front of Jan as the boy searched for pen and paper. "Jan…"

Jan ignored the strain in Claire's voice as he held up a very rough sketch of the Millennium Earl to Leo. "See! This is him!" He blinked as Leo grabbed Claire's hand in one of his and pushed down the picture of the Earl with his other. "Leo?"

Leo smiled eerily at Jan. "There's somewhere I want you to go with me." He turned his dead eyes to Claire before tightening his grip on her wrist. "You can come too, Claire."

Claire would've gone even if Leo hadn't said anything. There was no way she was letting Jan out of her sight. She put on her sweetest smile, the one Cross had taught her to use on strangers to get money or food. "Let go of my wrist and I'll gladly come." She noticed the way Leo stared at her as Jan ran around looking for his skates. "I'm not letting you get Jan alone."

Leo simply grinned as Jan led the way out of the house. He trailed behind Claire as she rushed after Jan.

Claire blinked as she emerged from the house and found Allen lying beneath the large maid on the doorstep. Before she could try and tell him what was going on, Jan had grabbed her hand and was leading her away. She faintly heard Allen call out to her as Jan led them away from the house.

After they cleared the house, Leo led the way. Claire remained at Jan's side, her hand firmly in his. Every time Leo looked back to make sure they were still following, she stuck her tongue out at him.

The trio finally stopped just outside of the town's cemetery. Claire shuddered as Jan led her through the gates. Jan grinned reassuringly at her. "It's okay. Leo probably just wants to visit his mom's grave…" He let out a small oomph as he ran into something squishy. He tensed as he felt a hand on his head.

Claire shuddered as a gloved hand rested on her head and affectionately stroked her hair. She wanted to run away but her entire body was rooted to her spot.

"Nice to meet you, Jan." A cheery voice cooed. "It's wonderful to see you again, Claire dear."

Claire finally snapped back to her senses. She yanked Jan away from the Millennium Earl and activated her wings. She floated in front of Jan, ready for an attack. She blinked when she saw a familiar onion fly into the Millennium Earl's face. She gasped when Jan grabbed her hand and started to pull her away.

"Leo, let's go!" Jan shouted as he attempted to tug Leo towards the cemetery entrance. "He'll kill us if we stay here!"

"Oh, Leo's been dead for quite some time now." The Millennium Earl sang. The onion had had no affect on him. "He's been dead since his mother's funeral." The Earl's face suddenly turned from cheery to terrifying as he pointed a clawed finger at Jan. "You've annoyed me so he's going to be the Akuma to punish you."

Jan was in shock as Claire pushed him to stand behind her. "It can't be. Claire, he's lying, isn't he?"

Claire's eyes flicked between Leo and the Millennium Earl. "Jan…"

"He's not lying." Allen appeared, his arm already activated. "That boy is an Akuma."

The Earl tilted his head to the side. "Who might you be?"

"You're enemy." Allen stated plainly. He glanced over to confirm that Claire was all right.

The Earl mock bowed to Allen. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Exorcist."

Allen didn't respond. Instead, he lunged towards Leo, his hand extended to slice the boy in half. He froze when Jan leapt in front of Leo. "Jan, move."

Claire was beside Jan in an instant, tugging desperately on his hand. "Jan, he's an Akuma. You can't save him."

Jan turned watery eyes to Claire and then Allen. "Why is Leo an Akuma!? We started a patrol to stop Akuma from invading the city! You don't have any proof that he is an Akuma!" He froze as he felt something tap the back of his head. "Leo…?"

Claire leapt in front of Jan just before Allen jumped in front of the two children. She hugged Jan tightly, shielding as much of his body with her own as she could. "Are you okay, Allen?"

Allen attempted to smile reassuringly at her before he collapsed to the ground. Black stars appeared all over his skin as he clutched his severely wounded arm.

"Allen!" Claire was at his side in an instant, her hands trembling in front of her. She glared up at the Millennium Earl as he took a step towards them. She stood protectively in front of both Allen and Jan, ready to fight him off on her own.

The Earl tsked at her. "Now, why defend that boy? Your friend got hurt because of him. Besides, I don't want to have to hurt you to get to that boy. He really pissed me off, you know. He called me a bad person even though I'm creating the Akuma for people's own sake." He patted the side of the Akuma affectionately. "Akuma are created from a human's heart. This one was created from your friend Leo, Jan."

"It's Leo's dead mother." Allen ground out. "Leo made a deal with the Earl to bring his mother back and her soul became an Akuma. I can see her. His mother is suffering as an Akuma."

The Millennium Earl sneered. "What are you talking about, you dead brat? How can you see the soul?"

Claire felt a chill run through her as she turned her attention back to the Millennium Earl. The murderous look on his face terrified her. She remained standing in front of Jan and Allen despite her trembling legs. Unlike Jan, she wasn't fazed as Allen forced the Akuma poison out of his body.

Allen shakily stood up. "I once turned a very important person into an Akuma. Because of that, I was cursed and am now able to see the souls of Akuma."

Realization dawned on the Millennium Earl's face. "Ah, I remember you, Allen Walker! You turned your father into an Akuma!"

Claire's eyes widened. She had never heard this story before. Allen would always change the subject when she asked him about his eye. She had never known that he had turned his father. "Allen…"

Allen smiled and patted her head. "It's all right, Claire. I don't see this eye as a curse. It has helped me to realize that Akuma are sad beings that need to be freed. That's why we're becoming Exorcist, right?"

"Yup!" Claire grinned and hugged his waist tightly.

"I should've killed you back then." The Earl hissed out. He jumped up onto the Akuma's back that had once been Leo.

"Claire, keep Jan safe!" Allen shouted as he easily deflected all of the bullets. He leered at the Millennium Earl. "You only hit me last time because I was protecting Jan. Now, you won't be able to even scratch me."

The Millennium Earl wasn't fazed in the slightest. "They have a saying in the East: even if you have a crappy gun, shoot a lot and you'll hit something. Lucky for me I have a lot of Akuma."

Claire's eyes widened as she looked up and saw what at first appeared to be twinkling lights. She realized in horror that they were in fact Akuma. Without a second thought, Claire flew into the midst of the Akuma. Pulling her wings back as far as they would, she sent a volley of razor sharp feathers into them. She crowed in triumph as she took out three Akuma.

"Claire!" Allen shouted.

Blinking, Claire realized what Allen was about to do. She flew away from the Akuma and over to where Jan was. As the explosion from Allen's attack destroyed all the Akuma, Claire shielded Jan with her body from the shockwave. After the tremors ended, Claire looked up in time to see Allen collapse. "Allen!"

Allen smiled weakly at Claire's worried face. He placed his deactivated hand on her head. "No need for crying. I just need a doctor and I'll be fine. Jan, could you get one?"

Jan stared at all the blood for a moment before he too began to cry. "Yeah, just hold on, Allen."

* * *

Three days later found Claire sitting beside Jan as he worked intently on something. She stared at the cross for a moment, about to ask him what it was for when Allen walked into the room and peeked over Jan's shoulder.

"What's that for?" Allen asked.

Jan jumped before glaring half-heartedly at Allen. "It's an epitaph for Leo. He's considered a runaway right now so until they put a grave up for him…" Jan glanced between Allen and Claire. "You guys are going to the Exorcist headquarters, right?" At Allen's affirmative nod, Jan continued. "I'll go to my dad's place and study so I can get stronger."

"Let's all do our best." Allen tapped his fist with Jan before walking out of the room. "It's time to go, Claire."

Claire and Jan stood in front of each other, shuffling their feet awkwardly. It was Jan who broke the silence. "I'm sorry if I insulted you when we first met. You're an awesome Exorcist, Claire." He held his hand out to her as red stained his cheeks.

Claire's own cheeks tinted pink at the compliment. She stared at his hand for a moment before leaning forward and kissing his cheek. She quickly pulled away and ran out of the room. She paused just outside the door and smiled at Jan. "I don't really think you have cooties." As she ran down the hallway to catch up to Allen she called back to Jan. "Let's meet each other again someday, okay?"

Jan held his cheek for a moment before grinning. "Okay!"

* * *

…**.totally didn't realize how long this chapter was going to be. Review please and let me know your thoughts! Next chapter they reach the Black Order. How will everyone react to Claire? Will she make friends or enemies? Read and review please!**


	5. The Black Order

**I'm so sorry I've been gone for a couple of weeks. My grandfather passed away on February 28 at 2:12 in the morning. My entire family was in the hospital all that day before and until he died. I've needed these couple of weeks to recoup and get my life back in order. **

**Thank you all for your patience and not chopping my head off!**

**Sakura02: More enemy than friend, perhaps?**

**Thanks: Rakuen91, SaiyukiSucker, Angel Fantasy, and lilanimefan247 for reviewing.**

* * *

"You're doing awesome, Allen! You're almost there!" Claire fluttered beside Allen as he climbed the…well…she definitely wouldn't call it a hill. But it wasn't a mountain either. It was more like a giant earth tower rising up from the ground. At the top, the Black Order's headquarters waited.

Allen ground a rested his head against the side of the column of earth. "Why did they build it in such an inconvenient location?"

Claire giggled and helped Allen over the lip and onto flat ground. "We're here, Allen!"

Allen looked dubiously up at the ominous black tower rising into the sky. "This place feels rather ominous. Claire, deactivate your wings. It's rude to fly around when you first meet people."

Claire pouted but did as she was told. She landed beside Allen and took his hand in hers. "Is this going to be our home now, Allen?"

"I hope so." Allen smiled down at the thoughtful look on Claire's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Claire answered as the two made their way to the door. "It's just…it'll be nice to have a home…"

Allen squeezed her hand. "Yeah…" He looked around for a moment, trying to see if there was a doorbell or anything. Finally, he shouted at the entrance. "Excuse me, my name is Allen Walker and this is Claire. We were sent here by Cross Marian."

A booming voice from the entrance of the building. "Take the entrance exam from the gate keeper."

Claire noticed for the first time what appeared to be a giant face on the front of the door. She hid behind Allen and glared at it suspiciously. "I don't like that thing."

"Now, Claire, don't be rude." Allen chastised. He immediately froze up when the face was suddenly inches from his own.

Claire shrieked, activated her wings and flew out into the abyss. "It's a monster! It's gonna eat me!"

Afraid to turn his back on the thing as it was currently x-raying him, Allen attempted to wave Claire back over. "Get back here. You need to get tested too. It's all right…"

Just as Claire began to hesitantly float back over, the Gate Keeper began shouting at the tops of his lungs.

"He's cursed! He's a friend of the Millennium Earl!" The Gate Keeper howled. "I don't know about the kid but if she's with him she can't be good news! These guys need to get out of here!"

"Hey, Allen isn't cursed!" Claire barked out. Her fear of the strange face was momentarily forgotten in her righteous anger to defend Allen's honor. She flew over to the Gate Keeper and smacked him on the nose. "Take it back!"

"Claire, get down here right now." Allen jumped up and managed to grab one of Claire's legs. He yanked her down and held her firmly in his arms. "Now, I'm sure if we just reasonably explain to them our circumstances, this whole misunderstanding will be cleared up."

"Allen, whose that?" Claire asked, noticing a strange man with long hair in a pony tail standing on the roof above them. "…Allen, he's got a sword. I don't think he's gonna listen to you."

Before Allen could respond, the person leapt down from the building and slashed at the two of them. Allen activated his arm and held it in front of himself and Claire while using his other arm to hold Claire to him tightly. He winced as the blade sliced through his arm as though it were butter.

"Allen, are you okay!?" Claire panicked when she saw how extensive the wound was. She glared at the mysterious swordsman. "Leave Allen alone!" She wriggled out of Allen's arms and flew over to the swordsman. She darted behind him, grabbed his ponytail, and began yanking on it rather harshly. "Don't you dare hurt Allen!"

"Damn brat, let go!" The swordsman barked. He attempted to swat Claire away but her grip on his hair tightened. He glared over at Allen with killing intent. "You, what's with your arm and this damn brat's wings? And get her off of me!"

"C-Claire, get over here." Allen trembled from the furious look. He sighed in relief as Claire released the swordsman's hair, hoping that she would leave the man alone. His relief was short lived as Claire kicked the back of the man's head before flying back over to him. "Um…they're both anti-Akuma weapons. We're Exorcist."

The swordsman's glare was momentarily averted from the two of them as he turned his fury onto the Gate Keeper. "Well!?"

"I can't see their insides so for all we know they could be Akuma!" The Gate Keeper wailed. "Keep her away from me!" He shrieked as Claire was once again attempting to get away from Allen to knock some sense into the idiots that had 'greeted' her and Allen.

"Well, if I slice them open, we'll find out." The swordsman held his sword out to the side. "I will destroy you with Mugen."

Allen panicked and held Claire tighter to him as the swordsman charged. "B-but we really aren't your enemies! You should have received a letter of recommendation from our master, Cross!" He held his breath as the blade froze centimeters from his face.

The swordsman raised an eyebrow. "A letter? From the general?"

"Yeah." Claire held tighter to Allen and glared at the swordsman. "It was supposed to go to some guy named Komui."

There was a long moment of silence where no one moved or breathed. Finally, a voice shouted from the gate. "Kanda, stop your attack! Open the gate!"

"Yay! We won, Allen!" Claire grinned and stuck her tongue out at Kanda. "In your face, Stupid Swordsman!"

Kanda glowered back at the child. "Do you want to die, damn brat?" His glower was replaced by a look of shock as a girl bopped him upside the head with a clipboard.

"Be nice, Kanda." The girl scolded. "If you don't hurry up and get in, I'll close the gate." The girl smiled brightly at Allen and Claire as she guided them into the castle. "I'm Lenalee, the supervisor's assistant. I'll take you two to meet him."

Claire smiled at Lenalee. She deactivated her wings and wriggled out of Allen's grasp in order to curtsy to her. "It's nice to meet you."

Lenalee squealed and immediately hugged her. "You're absolutely precious! And your little wings are so cute!"

Allen chuckled. He looked up in time to see Kanda stalking off. "Oh, um…Kanda, was it?" He held his hand out to the glowering youth. "It's nice to meet you."

Kanda stared at his hand for a moment before scoffing. "I don't shake hands with cursed people."

Claire puffed her cheeks out in anger. Before either Lenalee or Allen could stop her, she ran after Kanda and kicked the back of his knees so that he fell to the floor. "Don't call Allen cursed, Stupid Kanda!"

Kanda slowly turned his head around, pure killing intent permeating from him. "I'm going to kill you, damn brat."

"I'm not a damn brat!" Claire's foot came up and connected with Kanda's face.

Kanda's hand inched toward his sword. "Fine. Damn Chibi Chibi!"

"Kanda, play nice." Lenalee reprimanded. She sighed as Kanda stalked off. She knelt beside Claire and smiled apologetically at Allen. "I'm sorry about him. He just got back from his mission so he's tired. Well, shall we go?"

Claire blinked as Lenalee held her hand out to her. She had never held hands with a woman before. Allen wouldn't ever let the ladies that Cross brought home touch her much at all. He'd always mutter something about diseased. She looked up at Allen for permission before hesitantly placing her hand in Lenalee's. She was surprised to find it was rather warm and soft, very different from Allen and Cross's hands. She smiled happily as Allen took her other hand and the trio set off through the vast halls of the Black Order.

Lenalee gave them a tour of the entire headquarters, smiling at how excited Claire seemed by it all. "I'll show the two of you the library and where the individual rooms are later."

"We get our own rooms?" Allen asked excitedly. He had always been crammed into rather small hotel rooms with Claire, Cross, and whatever woman Cross brought back that night. He frowned when he noticed Claire staring at the floor and being completely silent. "Would it be all right if her room was next to mine?"

"Of course." Lenalee didn't miss the bright smile that found it's way onto Claire's face. She led them to where the supervisor was waiting for them.

"I am Komui Li, the scientific group supervisor. I would like to personally welcome the two of you to the Black Order and apologize for the trouble early."

"Whose fault was that!?" A chorus of voices shouted from around the room.

Claire giggled as Komui led them into what appeared to be a surgery room. "The people here are funny."

Komui smiled warmly at the two of them. "Could you show me your arm, Allen? I know it got hurt when Kanda attacked the two of you."

"I don't like him." Claire huffed as Allen placed his injured arm on the table. "He's a meanie poopie head."

"Language." Allen reprimanded. He winced as Komui began poking his arm.

"Can you activate it?" Komui asked. He nodded to himself as he poked at Allen's arm. "Claire, can you activate your anti-Akuma weapon for me?"

Claire hesitated but did as she was told. She flinched when she felt Komui poking between her shoulder blades and tugging on the feathers of her wings.

"How very interesting. You are both Parasitic Types. They're very rare…" Komui muttered to himself as he lugged a bunch of horrid looking equipment over to Allen.

Lenalee sighed. "Claire, why don't you and I go meet the rest of the Science Department."

Claire looked at Allen who gave her a shaky smiled. "Go on," he said. "I'll be fine…I think."

Claire attempted to look back when she heard Allen scream but Lenalee quickly ushered her away. She held tightly to Lenalee's hand, growing more and more nervous the further she got from Allen.

"Everyone, I want you to meet Claire!" Lenalee shouted to a large group huddled over desks and books.

A man with glasses came over and grinned at Claire. "I'm Johnny! It's nice to meet you!"

A large man came up behind him. "I'm Tapp."

Claire nodded slowly to all of the others that introduced themselves to her. She hid behind Lenalee until a man that looked like he hadn't slept in days knelt down a few feet away. She blinked as he held his hand out to her.

"I'm Reever. Sorry about the mix-up earlier." He held his hand out patiently as Claire cautiously stepped out from behind Lenalee.

She paused in front of him before slowly holding her hand out to him. "I'm Claire." She couldn't help the smile that wormed its way onto her face when Reever smiled at her.

"All right, you two!" Komui announced as he appeared in the doorway with a shocked Allen looking around dazedly behind him. "It's time to go!"

"Are you okay, Allen!?" Claire immediately let go of Reever and rushed over to Allen. "Where're we going?" She asked after Allen had reassured her he was fine and was once again holding her hand.

Komui simply gave her a secret smile. "It's a surprise."

* * *

**And….we'll stop there! Ha…Claire and Kanda don't get along very well. Will that ever change? Review to find out!**


	6. First Mission

**Hello!**

**Sakura02: That'll probably show up once they return from their mission. Yes, I'm very excited for the tally board and blow dart.**

**Chocolate: They always say you should write about what you know best. I happen to work with small children and find them to be some of the most amusing people on the planet. :)**

**Thanks: lilanimefan247, Rakuen91, Angel Fantasy, Song of the Cursed Child, Wafia Primo, SaiyukiSucker, butiloveyou, random idiot TIARA, and Icealeena for reviewing! **

* * *

"Allen, are you okay?" Claire asked worriedly as they rode on a strange platform with Komui. Allen was on his knees on the floor, trembling and rather pale.

"I-I'll be fine." He stuttered out. He shakily got to his feet and patted Claire's head reassuringly. He blinked as they were suddenly wrapped in darkness and the only light came from in front of five chairs with five people silhouetted in them. "Who're they?"

Komui smiled. "These people work directly beneath our commander-in-chief. Now then, Allen, Claire, please show your worth to these people."

Claire opened her mouth to ask what he meant when tentacles appeared and yanked Allen off the platform. "Allen!" She cried out in alarm. She activated her Innocence and attempted to fly to Allen's rescue only to be grabbed by Komui. "Let me go! That thing is hurting my Allen!"

"Calm down, Claire." Komui smiled up at the creature. "How is his Innocence, Hevlaska? Does this Apostle of God please you?"

"That thing is going to eat Allen! Let me go!" Claire screamed and chomped at Komui's hands.

Komui raised an eyebrow. "Why on Earth would Hevlaska eat Allen? She merely wants to inspect his Innocence. See?"

Claire paused in her attempt to gnaw off Komui's hand and watched intently as Hevlaska touched her forehead to Allen's. It did indeed appear that Allen was in no immediate danger so Claire relaxed and deactivated her Innocence.

"83% synchronization." Hevlaska finally announced as she gently placed Allen back on the platform.

"What's synchronization?" Claire asked as she rushed over to Allen. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his side.

Hevlaska turned her attention to the small child. "The synchronization rate is how easily one is able to activate their Anti-Akuma weapon. The lower the percentage, the more difficult it is to activate the weapon and it can even put the user at risk. It's your turn, my dear."

Claire squeaked as she was lifted into the air. She could feel tendrils entering through her back and feeling the Innocence inside her. She squirmed, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She blinked as Hevlaska leaned down and touched her forehead to hers.

"77% synchronization." Hevlaska said with clear astonishment in her voice. "That's incredible for someone so young."

Allen sighed at the bright grin that flashed across Claire's face. "Please don't swell her head anymore than it is."

Hevlaska turned her attention back to Allen. "Allen Walker, your Innocence will create a dark 'Destroyer of Time' in the near dark future. That is what I have seen." She turned her attention to Claire. "As for you, Claire, your Innocence is much more blurred. I cannot foresee what shall come of it."

Komui whistled. "That sounds exciting." He quickly held his clipboard up to avoid getting punched in the face by Allen. "I'm sorry."

Claire was fairly certain that he wasn't sorry at all judging from the smile on his face. "So, that's it? Are we part of the Black Order now?" She asked hopefully.

Komui smiled and held his hand out to Allen. "Yes. Welcome to the Black Order." He shook Allen's hand first and then Claire's.

* * *

Claire sighed as she laid on top of her own bed. Her room was next door to Allen's but she still felt rather alone. She curled up on her side and looked out the small window that looked out on the night sky. "Where are you, Master Cross? I miss you." She yawned and fell into a fitful sleep.

She awoke a few hours later drenched in sweat and trembling. She had had a terrible dream though now that she was awake, she couldn't remember what had made it so horrible. She cried as she left her room and went next door to Allen's. She didn't bother knocking and simply shuffled over to his bed and climbed in.

Allen cracked an eye open and sighed. He placed his hand on her cheek and smiled. "Did you have the dream again?" At her affirmative nod, he wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. You can stay with me. I won't let the dream come back."

Claire buried her face in Allen's chest and immediately fell back to sleep. This one was much more restful and her dreams were peaceful. She was gently stirred from her sleep by a creaking noise. She opened her eyes to find the bed was empty. She rolled over onto her side and saw Allen doing thumb push ups off the top of the chair. "Good morning, Allen."

Allen gracefully flipped off of the chair. "Good morning, Claire. Are you hungry?"

Claire's stomach answered for her. She hopped out of her bed and went back to her room to change into one of her many dresses. She didn't bother putting shoes on as she didn't care for them much. She met Allen outside of his room and immediately latched onto his hand.

The two made their way to the cafeteria area where many people were already eating. Claire stayed close to Allen's side as her eyes scanned for any familiar faces from the other day. She saw no one and scooted even closer to Allen.

"Ah, new recruits!" A slightly feminine looking male squealed. "And they're just so adorable too! What can I get for the two of you? I can make anything. I'm Jerry, by the way."

Claire listened to the long list of food that Allen listed off. She nodded to Jerry when he looked dubiously at her. "I want the same thing but I want ice cream for desert instead of pudding. Oh, and can I have 30 Mitarashi Dangos?"

Jerry looked at the two for a moment. "Are you sure you can eat all that?"

"Yup!" Claire beamed as Jerry went back to the kitchen to get hers and Allen's food. She looked over when she heard a loud commotion coming from the other end of the cafeteria. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Kanda choking a man in a hooded jacket. Before Allen could stop her, she ran over and grabbed Kanda's ponytail. "Leave him alone, you big meanie!"

Kanda glared over his shoulder at the small child who gave him an equally angry glare. His glare intensified when Allen grabbed his hand that was squeezing the other man's throat. "Back off, Moyashi." He ground out at Allen. "Damn Chibi Chibi, let go of my hair."

Claire's grip on his hair tightened. "My name isn't Damn Chibi Chibi, Stupid Kanda! It's Claire! And Allen isn't a Moyashi!"

"Hmph, I'll remember your names if your still here in a month." He sneered over his shoulder at Claire. "You'll probably die on your first mission." His glare returned to Allen as Allen's grip on his wrist intensified.

"Don't say that to her." Allen ground out.

Kanda returned Allen's glare with one of his own. "I hate your type."

"Likewise." Allen retorted back.

Claire decided it was best to leave the matter to Allen when she swore she saw sparks of lightning pass between the two. She turned her attention to the man that was kneeling on the ground and gasping for air. "Are you okay, Mister?" She asked.

The man nodded and stood. "Thank you."

"Oi, Claire, Kanda, Allen!" Lenalee waved at the three with Reever by her side. "Hurry up and finish eating!"

"You three have a mission!" Reever explained.

* * *

Claire stood in between Allen and Kanda in front of Komui's desk where said man was sound asleep. Claire held onto Allen's hand and would occasionally glare up at Kanda. "Is he gonna wake up?"

Reever sighed as he went over and lent close to Komui's ear. "Lenalee's getting married." He whispered.

Claire hid behind Allen as Komui leapt up and began wailing at the top of his lungs. "Weirdo…"

"Sorry." Reever smiled down at her. "that's the only way to wake him up."

Komui ushered the three over to a couch. He raised and eyebrow as Claire sat in between Kanda and Allen and continued her glaring contest with the swordsman. "Well then, I'll just give you a brief summary of your mission. The three of you will be working together on this mission."

Kanda looked incredulously at the Exorcists beside him while Allen and Claire did likewise. "You're joking."

"I don't wanna go with Stupid Kanda! He's a meanie!" Claire huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She yelped as Kanda whapped her upside the head. "Jerk!" She bit at his retracting hand.

Komui cleared his throat. "We have found an Innocence in Southern Italy but it seems Akuma are already there. Your mission is to destroy the enemy and obtain the Innocence. Lenalee, if you'll take Claire to get her uniform, Reever will take Allen to get his."

Claire kicked Kanda in the shin as she hopped off the couch and skipped over to Lenalee. She stuck her tongue out over her shoulder at the fuming Kanda. She held Lenalee's hand as Lenalee led her away from Komui's office. "Why do Allen and I have to go with Stupid Kanda?"

Lenalee giggled. "Kanda's not all that bad once you get to know him. Just try not to beat him up too much, okay?"

"Okay." Claire sighed. "I'll be a good girl for Lenalee and Allen."

Lenalee smiled as she ushered Claire into a room filled with Exorcist uniforms. "I know Komui had one made for you…" A few moments later, Lenalee returned to Claire with a uniform similar to her own but much smaller. "Go on, try it on."

Claire did as she was told. She was pleasantly surprised to find the uniform fit her fairly well. She was even more excited to realize there were small slits in the back of her uniform shirt and coat for her wings to slip through. She beamed and spun around. "It's pretty." She gushed.

"You look so adorable." Lenalee cooed.

"All done in here?" Reever asked as he walked by with Allen. He smiled down at Claire. "Well, don't you look like a real Exorcist now." He nodded to Lenalee. "I'll take them to the boat."

Claire gave Lenalee a quick hug. "Bye, Lenalee! We'll be back real soon!" She immediately went to Allen's side and latched onto his hand.

Reever led the two deeper down into the depths of the headquarters until they finally came to a small concrete port with a river flowing underground and a boat tied to the port. "Well, good luck on your first mission." Reever crouched down to Claire's level and ruffled her hair. "You keep an eye on Kanda and Allen, okay? Don't let them kill each other."

Claire giggled and saluted Reever. "Yes sir!" She squealed when Timcanpy suddenly popped up from Allen's sleeve and fluttered over to her. She hugged the golem tightly. "There you are!"

Allen smiled, picked her up, and hopped into the boat. He ignored the glowering Kanda and waved to Komui and Reever. "We'll see you when we return."

Kanda scoffed. "We'll see if the two of you live through this." He growled when water was flicked onto his face.

Claire glared at him as he turned his attention to her. "You better be nice or I'll let the Akuma eat you."

Kanda glared at her for a moment before reaching his hand into the water and splashing her in the face. He smirked in satisfaction at the shocked look on her face. His smirk soon turned to one of surprise when he was suddenly splashed by multiple handfuls of water.

As the water battle continued between the two, Allen tried to stay back as far as possible. It appeared that this would be a rather long mission.

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**And….we're stopping. Reviews please.**


	7. Train Ride

**Hello again, everyone! Terribly sorry for my long absence. The last couple of weeks I've been finishing up classes, then I had the oh so exciting finals of doom. Now, it's summer vacation! I hope you can all forgive me for my tardiness!**

**Sakura02: Hehe…blow dart…tally board**

**SaiyukiSucker: Technically, Kanda started it when he picked on Allen in front of Claire.**

**animeXbooksXmanga: I'm not sure if Claire will fall in love with anyone. We'll just have to wait and see.**

**Thank you: Rakuen91, lilanimefan247, Angel Fantasy, Chocolate, and Larkfall for reviewing!**

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"You guys are so slow!" Claire shouted over her shoulder as she flew towards the train.

Kanda glared at her. "Slow down so I can slice your wings off. Then we'll see how fast you are."

"Please don't threaten Claire-dono, Kanda-dono." Toma the Finder muttered as he leapt in front of Kanda and Allen. "We're here!"

Allen raised an incredulous eyebrow as they all leapt into the air. "Isn't this considered illegal boarding?"

"This is how we always board trains." Toma explained.

Claire fluttered down onto the speeding train and sat beside Allen. Her face was flushed and a bright smile was on her face. "That was fun! Let's do it again!"

"I'm going to kill her." Kanda ground out as they opened a hatch in the top of the train and hopped in.

Allen held Claire back as first Toma and then Kanda leapt in. "Go on, Claire. I'll be right behind you."

Claire shook her head and clung to the edge of the hatch. "You first. I'm scared."

"Honestly." Allen sighed as he leapt through the hatch and held his arms out to Claire. He smiled at her as he caught her with ease and held her. "You'll fly through the air and fight Akuma but you're afraid of jumping a few feet into a carpeted train."

"Please follow me." An attendant led the group to one of the first class rooms on the train.

Claire stared at Toma as he stationed himself outside the room. "Aren't you coming inside?"

Toma smiled at her through the bandages that covered the lower half of his mouth. "No, I'll stay out here, Claire-dono." He blinked as Claire sat down beside him. "You need not keep me company, Claire-dono."

"It's okay." Claire grinned up at him. "I don't wanna be stuck in the room with Stupid Kanda anyway." She yelped as the door to the room was opened and a hand whacked her head.

Toma chuckled and sat down beside Claire. The two sat in silence for a while just watching the scenery pass through the windows. Toma would occasionally glance at Claire from the corner of his eye.

"Is there something on my face?" Claire finally asked looking up at Toma.

"Oh, no. Forgive me, Claire-dono." Toma quickly averted his eyes back to the window. "You just look like someone I knew."

Claire tilted her head to the side, curious. "Who?"

"My sister." Toma answered. "She was a Finder, like me. She came back from a mission a few years ago and announced she was pregnant. She had the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen in my life. The baby had blonde hair and green eyes, exactly like my sister. She disappeared the day after she gave birth with my niece." He smiled at Claire.

"What was the baby's name?" Claire whispered.

"Claire." Toma chuckled at the shocked look on Claire's face. "I have no doubt that you are my sister's daughter." He blinked as Claire stood up and threw the door to the room open.

"Allen, Allen, Allen, Allen!" Claire leapt into Allen's lap and grabbed onto the front of his jacket.

Taken aback, Allen held his hands up defensively. "Yes?"

"Toma is my uncle! My mommy was a Finder!" Claire's eyes were glowing with excitement.

"I'm sorry." Toma apologized from the doorway. "I didn't know she'd get so excited."

Allen chuckled and patted Claire's head. "It's all right. So, your sister was Claire's mother?"

"Yes. Have you seen her?" Toma asked hopefully.

"No." Allen sighed when Claire snuggled closer to him. "I found Claire abandoned in an alley three years ago. We never could find her mother."

"I see." Toma said softly. "Well, should you need anything, I'll be out here."

"No ma'am." Allen scolded as Claire attempted to back outside. "You need to read your report on the case."

"But it's boring!" Claire whined. "I wanna ask Toma about my mommy."

"Later." Allen promised. He heard the small huff beside him and patted Claire's head. "I know."

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "You spoil her too much. That's why she's such a brat." He had to bite his tongue when Claire's foot connected with his shin.

"I'm not spoiled!" Claire snapped. She yelped as Kanda smacked her in the head with his sheathed sword. "Child abuse!"

After a few more bruises for all three Exorcists, Toma entered and calmed the situation down. Claire snuggled into Allen's side and continued reading the report. "So, we're trying to find the Ghost of Martel?"

"Yes." Toma said through the door. "We have reason to believe that the Ghost of Martel is holding this Innocence."

Even after that had left the train, Claire continued to read the report. Her eyes widened when she reached one particular part. "The Ghost of Martel is a doll!"

"Glad you finally caught up." Kanda snorted out.

"Claire, look up when you're flying!" Allen shouted as Claire narrowly dodged a tree.

Claire finished reading about how the people of Martel had created the dolls to keep them happy from their terrible lives and how they eventually abandoned the dolls but the dolls remained. "That's so sad." She said softly. When Kanda raised an eyebrow at her, she stuck her tongue out at him. "They were made to make people happy but there haven't been people in Martel for five hundred years. The dolls must have been lonely."

"Dolls don't have feelings." Kanda rolled his eyes. "Children should keep their mouths shut so they don't sound stupid."

"Shut up, Stupid Kanda!" Claire howled out. She froze as the group halted outside the perimeter of the city. Subconsciously, she scooted closer to Allen. "Allen, there's something bad down there. Where are the Finders?"

"They're dead." Kanda answered flatly. He glanced over at Claire and Allen. "You should know this before we go down there; if either of you are on the verge of dying, I won't save you if I think you'll just be a nuisance."

Allen glared over at Kanda and held Claire closer to him. "I don't like your thought process."

"It's okay." Claire said. "I'll be a better person than you, Stupid Kanda. Even though I know you'll be a nuisance, I'll still save you."

Before Kanda could respond, an explosion rocked the area. "Let's go."

Claire flew down alongside Allen. They came upon the strangest Akuma Claire had ever seen in her life just in time to see it crush a Finder's head. Claire had never seen so much blood in all her life. She froze while Allen charged forward and punched the Akuma.

"Claire, get out of here!" Allen screamed. He took his eyes off the Akuma for a moment and was suddenly thrown through the wall.

"Allen!" Claire screamed. She gasped as the Akuma was now standing in front of her.

The Akuma cackled. "I'll have fun tearing your wings off little birdie."

Claire couldn't move. She was frozen in place. As the Akuma's hand swung down, she screamed.

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**And because I'm evil I'm going to stop there. Reviews make me a happy author.**


	8. The Singing Doll

**I'm so glad I have Friday off from work. These kids are going to be the death of me…**

**Sakura02: I had nightmares about Kanda playing with dolls thanks to you! And don't worry, Toma's going to show up a lot more. He has to save his poor little niece from Kanda and his evil blow dart of doom. **

**lilanimefan247: The Toma thing will be expanded on over the next couple of chapters.**

**Thank you: Harley Pendragon, animeXbooksXmanga, Rachael Hyuuga, SaiyukiSucker, Meco45, PurplePunkette, Suzume Sai Suzuki, XeniaKunoichi, Angel Fantasy, and guest for reviewing!**

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Claire held her breath as she waited for the claws to slice her open. All she felt was the whoosh of air and arms pulling her away. After a few moments of not feeling any searing pain or a tunnel with a shiny light, Claire dared to open her eyes. They widened when she saw whose arms it were that were holding her. "Stupid Kanda?"

Kanda stared off to the side as he roughly dropped Claire to the ground. "Che, you're useless, just like that damn Moyashi." His eyes cut over to where Allen had pulled himself from the rubble. "He's on his own."

"We have to help Allen!" Claire protested as she followed after Kanda. "What if that thing kills him?"

"Then it's his own fault." Kanda snapped irritably. "Our mission is to get the Innocence inside the doll. If he's too stupid to focus on the mission, then he doesn't deserve to live." Kanda had to bite back a yelp when he felt someone yanking on his hair. "Damn Chibi Chibi, let go!"

"If that's what you think, why'd you save me!" Claire's grip on Kanda's hair didn't loosen. "I'm not as strong as Allen and I'll be more of a nuisance…so why?"

Kanda was silent as he tugged his hair free of Claire's death grip. He didn't look at her as he continued over to the edge of the building. "You remind me of annoying person I once knew and it pisses me off."

Claire stood there dumbfounded for a moment after Kanda disappeared over the lip of the building. Looking desperately between where she could hear Allen fighting and where she could see Kanda activating his Innocence. With a huff of annoyance, Claire spread her wings and flew after Kanda as he attacked one of the remaining Level 1 Akuma. "You're reasoning makes no sense, Stupid Kanda!" Claire shot a barraged of razor sharp feathers at the remaining Akuma.

Kanda simply ignored her and went over to one of the remaining Finders. "What's the deactivation code for the shield?"

"Hey, shouldn't we help him?" Claire asked as Kanda leapt into the crater where the shield was. When she went over to the Finder, she found he was already dead. She bit her lip, before reaching out and closing his eyes. She whipped around when she heard the sound of Kanda leaping back onto the building. "Stupid Kanda, wait for me!" She quickly flew up to the top where she had a clear view of the Akuma fighting Allen.

Allen smiled reassuringly at her. "Go with them, Claire! Make sure Kanda doesn't scare them. I'll catch up!"

Claire nodded slowly. "Don't die, Allen!" She flew alongside Kanda as he carried the two people to safety. Claire couldn't see anything particularly distinguishing about either person. Both wore cloaks and, in Claire's opinion, funny hats.

The female looked at Claire worriedly. "Is it all right to leave him alone like that?"

"Don't worry!" Claire beamed proudly at the woman. "My Allen won't get killed by someone like that. I'm Claire by the way! What's your name?"

The woman blinked slowly. "I'm Lala. This is my friend, Gozul."

"It's nice to meet the two of you!" Claire grinned out. "Don't worry about Stupid Kanda. He's really not that scary. He's just a meanie."

Lala chuckled. "I-I see. Um, perhaps we should find a safer place to hide."

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "You know of such a place."

"There is an underground city." Lala explained. "The people of Martel built it to protect them from the sun. Since those Akuma creatures can fly, it would be best we stay underground."

Claire shuddered as Kanda landed on the ground. She deactivated her Innocence and looked around warily. "Is it dark?"

"What's wrong?" Kanda sneered. "Afraid of the dark?"

"N-No!" Claire puffed her chest out. "I'm not scared of anything!"

Kanda was about to respond when his golem began ringing. "Oh, it's Toma."

"Kanda-dono, I can no longer find Walker-dono's whereabouts. The Akuma is currently chasing Walker-dono's golem."

"He's gonna eat Tim!" Claire screeched. "Stupid Kanda, we have to save Tim!"

Kanda sighed. "I'll send my golem as a guide, Toma. We need Tim's ability." He groaned in annoyance as Claire continued to cry. "Would you shut up!"

"B-But that thing is gonna eat Tim and Uncle Toma doesn't know where Allen is!" Claire bawled. She blinked when she felt large hands on her shoulder. She looked up into the face of Gozul for the first time and sucked in her breath.

"Heh, I'm repulsive, aren't I?" Gozul coughed out. "I'm sure your friends will be fine, Little Angel."

Claire stared at him a moment more before smiling at him. "It's okay. You may be ugly on the outside but at least your beautiful on the inside. Kanda's ugly on the outside and inside."

Kanda whapped her upside the head before turning his attention to Gozul. "You're the doll?"

Gozul coughed again. "Yes. I take it you want my heart."

"I want it now." Kanda said coldly. "We don't need to be dragging a huge doll with us while we try to get away from that Akuma." He snarled when Claire stood in front of him and punched his arm. "What the hell, Damn Chibi Chibi!"

"You can't kill Gozul!" Lala shouted as she stood protectively in front of him. "He's the only one that knows the underground city!"

Kanda's eyes narrowed. "And who are you?"

"She was an abandoned child that I adopted." Gozul coughed out.

"Don't you dare hurt either of them, Stupid Kanda!" Claire bit out as she continued punching Kanda's arm.

Kanda rolled his eyes and pushed Claire away and held his hand against her forehead to keep her flailing arms at bay. "Very well. You can keep your heart for now." He looked over when he heard Toma's voice and went to speak to the Finder.

Lala smiled uncertainly at Claire. "Thank you." She hesitated before pulling Claire into a hug.

Claire blinked and pulled away from Lala. "You…"

"Damn Chibi Chibi, get over here." Kanda snapped impatiently.

Claire stuck her tongue out at him but walked over. She was about to scream when she saw Tim smashed into bits but stopped when the golem put himself back together. She watched as Tim played back all that he had seen of the Level 2 Akuma. Claire shuddered. "It's creepy." She quickly followed Kanda as he ordered Gozul to lead them to the underground city. As they walked through the underground maze, Claire thought about the Akuma that was able to copy people. "How will we know if it's Allen when he comes back?"

"It's obvious if you had paid attention." Kanda grouched. "The Akuma is like a mirror. Everything like the Moyashi's scar and weapon are on the other side."

"Oh…" Claire blinked as she rounded the corner. She tugged on Kanda's sleeve. "Gozul and Lala are gone."

"What!" Kanda looked around the corner. "They ran away!"

Claire stared suspiciously at Toma as he seemed rather agitated. Something was off… "Ah, it's Allen!" Claire shouted in joy.

Kanda narrowed his eyes at the dazed looking Allen before them. "That's not the Moyashi. Look at his scar, Damn Chibi Chibi. It's on the other side."

Indeed, Claire realized the Allen in front of them was a mirror image and not the real thing. But still, something didn't feel right. She couldn't feel any malice from the person before them. She glanced warily over her shoulder.

The Allen look alike took a step forward. "Kan-Kanda…" It gasped out.

"Something's wrong." Claire whispered as Kanda drew his sword. "Wait…"

"K-Kanda-d-do…" the Allen gasped out again.

"First Illusion!" Kanda activated his Innocence and shot his attack towards the dazed Allen.

"Wait, Stupid Kanda!" Claire screamed. "That isn't the Akuma!" She activated her Innocence and pushed the Allen look alike away just as a familiar hand reached out to stop Kanda's attack. "Allen!" Claire's eyes lit up as the real Allen jumped from a hole in the wall.

"What are you two doing!" Kanda howled, clearly furious. "Why are you protecting an Akuma!"

Allen knelt beside Claire and smiled reassuringly at her. "My eye can see an Akuma in disguise. This is not an Akuma."

"What's your excuse?" Kanda snapped at Claire.

Claire shrugged helplessly. "He didn't…feel…like an Akuma. I can't explain it." She blinked when she noticed a tear in the fake's face. Carefully she peeled away the mask and gasped. "Uncle Toma!"

Allen whipped around. "Kanda, the Toma behind you is the Akuma!"

"Stupid Kanda!" Claire screamed as the Akuma punched through the walls with Kanda. "Allen, we've gotta do something!"

"Claire, listen to me." Allen said calmly. He gripped Claire's shoulders firmly and gave her a strained smile. "Go find the doll. I'll help Kanda."

"But…"

"No buts. Go. I promise I'll catch up to you soon with Kanda and Toma." Allen kissed her forehead before rushing off to find Kanda.

Claire looked down at the barely conscious Toma. "Allen will stop that Akuma, Uncle Toma. Don't you worry." With that, she unfurled her wings and flew off down the tunnel.

It was easier said than done to find Gozul and Lala. Claire had no clue where she was going. All the hallways looked the same to her. Pausing to catch her breath, Claire kicked a rock in frustration. "Where are they?" She paused in her rant when she heard the most beautiful singing voice she had ever heard. She resumed flying and followed the voice to an open chamber where she found Lala and Gozul. "You guys are okay! Ah, so Lala is the doll! Allen, you're here too!"

Lala whipped around to find that Allen was standing just to the other side of her with an unconscious Kanda and Toma over his shoulders. "How long have you been there?"

"Well, I didn't mean to eavesdrop but…" He blinked as Lala lifted a broken stone pillar off the ground and hurled it at him. "W-Wait a minute!"

"Allen, I think you upset her." Claire watched from her spot as Lala continued hurling debris at Allen. "Allen, maybe if you used **that **trick…"

Allen paused for a moment to mull over Claire's words. He quickly caught the pillar that Lala had thrown at him and threw it so that it destroyed the other pillars. "Now you don't have anything left to throw. Shall we talk?"

Claire grinned as she sat beside a stunned Gozul. "He's had to do that with me when I get angry with him."

Gozul chuckled. "You don't seem like such an angry child."

"Oh I can get very angry." Claire puffed her chest out proudly. "One time, Allen ate my cake and I threw the bed at him."

"Gozul will die soon." Lala whispered. "I'll give you my heart after….just please don't take me away from him!"

"Claire," Allen said softly. "Take care of Kanda and Toma."

"I'm all right, Walker-dono." Toma shakily stood to his own feet. He patted Claire's head as she rushed over. "I'm fine. Really. Please attend to Kanda-dono."

Claire huffed but reluctantly obeyed. "I need something to use as a pillow." She blinked as Allen handed her his jacket but put it under Kanda's head. Claire listened as Lala told the story of how she had found Gozul nearly 80 years ago. Slowly she peeled Kanda's shirt off and used it to tie around Kanda's chest. "Stupid Kanda…getting hurt so badly…" She used the sleeve of her jacket to gently wipe the blood from Kanda's face.

"Gozul will stop moving soon." Lala said softly. "Please wait until then to take my heart."

"No." Kanda snarled up as he shakily sat up. "We can't wait for him to die. Our job is to protect the Innocence. Take her heart now, Moyashi."

Claire puffed her cheeks out and smacked Kanda in the chest. "Lay down and quit being a meanie!"

Kanda had to use all his willpower to stop himself from howling in pain. He snarled at Claire before rounding on Allen. "Take the Innocence now!"

"No." Allen said firmly. He flinched as Kanda threw his jacket back at him.

Claire scrambled to stand protectively in front of Lala as Kanda stood and drew his sword. "Don't you dare, Stupid Kanda! Let her stay with him until he dies! That's not so much to ask!"

"Move." Kanda snarled. "Sacrifices must be made. We are Exorcists and our job is to protect the Innocence."

"I won't!" Claire shouted, though she did tremble as Kanda pointed his sword at her eye level.

"If there must be a sacrifice, I will be it." Allen moved in front of Claire. "If I defeat the Akuma, it won't matter if we let her stay with him, right?"

Claire shrieked as Kanda punched Allen in the face. She blinked as Toma held her back but her gaze remained furious. "Leave Allen alone!"

"That's a terribly naïve way of thinking. You're willing to throw your life away for these strangers! What about the Damn Chibi Chibi! If you die for these strangers, you leave her! Isn't she important to you!" Kanda collapsed to the ground, clutching his wound tightly in pain.

"…Claire understands me…" Allen said slowly. "She would understand…I just…I want to see their wish come true is all. I only think about what is in front of me, not the entire world. I just want to protect everything that I can."

Claire opened her mouth to say something when she heard a terrible scream behind her. She turned in time to see Lala and Gozul pierced through by a hook and dragged off. "What is that!"

"It's the Akuma." Allen stood up defensively. "Claire…"

Claire was already standing in front of Kanda, her wings taunt, ready to attack. "Don't worry, Stupid Kanda. I won't let the Akuma get you."

Kanda scoffed. "As if I need protection."

The Akuma suddenly broke through the surface of the sand with Lala and Gozul speared in both his hands. "I've got the Innocence." It crowed triumphantly.

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**And that's it for this week! Next update will wrap up this arc and we'll be moving on. Please review and let me know your thoughts!**


	9. Singing Doll Finale

**Only a two more days until my birthday! I can't wait!**

**Sakura02: Lol, you know Claire says stuff just to piss Kanda off. It's what she lives for.**

**XeniaKunoichi: Well, Claire means clear/bright and I always kind of picture her as being this bright little happy child which is why I liked the name. There was a character in the first chapter of -Man named Claire but I had forgotten about her until I wrote the chapter. **

**SaiyukiSucker: I'm not meaning to make you hate Kanda! He's actually my favorite character in the whole series. Him and Claire are just working out their relationship right now. Yeah, I realized Allen wasn't really in this last one so I'm going to try and put more of him in this time around.**

**Thanks: lilanimefan247, Rakuen91, animeXbooksXmanga, Angel Fantasy, emogirlrikka, and Skye Leiko for your reviews!**

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"Lala! Gozul!" Claire screamed as the Akuma tossed them aside. She glowered at the monster as it held up the Innocence it had ripped from Lala. "You monster!" Claire activated her Innocence and prepared to fly into the air. She paused when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Let me handle him, Claire." Allen said darkly.

Claire turned around to protest but the words died on her lips when she saw Allen's arm was changing. "Allen…" She quickly rushed over to where Toma and Kanda were standing to the side in awe. She stood protectively in front of the two of them, her wings quivering.

"What's happening to Walker-dono?" Toma asked shakily.

"Parasitic type weapons can change in response to their master's emotions." Kanda explained coolly. "His weapon is reacting to his anger." He glared at the back of Claire's head. "Move."

Claire shook her head and stuck her tongue out at him over her shoulder. "I'm going to protect you and Uncle Toma whether you like it or not." She smiled over at Toma. "When we get done, will you tell me about my mother?"

Toma smiled briefly back at her. "Of course, Claire-dono."

Kanda snarled but made no move to move away. "Damn brat…"

Claire was about to retort when she saw Allen launch himself at the Akuma. "Allen, you're weapon is still changing!" Her eyes widened as Allen's arm suddenly turned into a cannon. "I've never seen Allen so angry before…"

Kanda frowned as the sand began shifting. "That Akuma is part of the sand now…"

"What's it…" Claire yelped as a hand shot out of the sand and grabbed her. She couldn't use her Innocence with the hand crushing her wings to her side.

"Look, I've got a hostage now." The Akuma cackled as it came out of the sand. It grinned triumphantly as Allen hesitated. "Well, now I can finally rip this little birdie's wings off…" It frowned for a moment as it stared at Claire before it's eyes widened. "You are…"

Claire managed to wriggle out enough to get part of her wing exposed. She shot a flurry of feathers straight into the Akuma's face. She flew over to Allen. "Are you okay, Allen?"

Allen raised an eyebrow at her. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Before Claire could respond, the Akuma suddenly appeared in front of them in the form of sand and swallowed Allen. "Allen!" She pulled her wings back but the Akuma clicked disapprovingly at her.

"If you shoot, you'll hurt him." He raised his copied Allen arm up and began stabbing his own sand stomach. "I wonder how long it will take before he dies."

Claire growled and brought her wings back. "Let Allen go!" As she shot another flurry of razor shop feathers into the Akuma's face, Allen broke through the sand, using his arm to block the Akuma's attack.

Allen's arm changed from a cannon to where a sharp beam of light appeared almost like a sword. He grinned as he sliced the Akuma in half, causing the sand skin to disappear and the real Akuma to be exposed. He landed on the ground and turned his arm back into a cannon to fire at the Akuma.

"Get him, Allen!" Claire cheered as the hand the Akuma was using to block Allen's attack slowly began to disintegrate. Her eyes widened when Allen's arm suddenly went back to normal and he began to cough up blood. "Allen!" She screamed as the Akuma lunged forward. She flew down but knew she wouldn't make it in time. "Allen!"

Kanda suddenly appeared in front of Allen and blocked the attack. He turned murderous eyes on Allen. "You idiot! How dare you run out of energy at the last minute! You were the one that was whining about protecting the two of them!"

"Don't yell at Allen, Stupid Kanda!" Claire landed beside Allen and hugged him tightly. Tears were already starting to form in her eyes. "I was scared. I was scared the Akuma was going to take you away from me!"

"Oi, you don't have time to cry right now!" Kanda snapped. "You can be a baby when this is over with."

Claire sniffled but wiped her tears away. "Shut up, Stupid Kanda!"

Allen chuckled and hugged Claire back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you worry like that. I'll make it up to you, I promise." He grinned sheepishly at Kanda. "I didn't run out of energy…I was just taking a break."

Kanda rolled his eyes as he continued holding the Akuma at bay. "Everything you and the damn Chibi Chibi do is irritating."

Claire stuck her tongue out but stood up as Allen reactivated his weapon and Kanda sliced off the Akuma's hand. The three pointed their weapons at the Akuma at the same time and attacked in unison.

The Akuma screamed. It looked at Claire one more time before cackling and pointing at her. "Y-You…" It was then destroyed by the blast of the three attacks.

Claire stared at the spot where the Akuma had been for a moment. A sudden chill went through her despite her uniform jacket and she rubbed her arms. She looked up when she saw something shiny falling from the sky. Her eyes widened when she realized it was the Innocence. Seeing that both Allen and Kanda were currently unconscious, she flew into the air and caught the Innocence. She landed gracefully and stared at the glowing object in her hand. She looked over at Lala before slowly making her way to the doll.

"Please, sing for Gozul one more time." She whispered as she put the Innocence back in.

* * *

Three days; it had been three days since the whole incident with the Akuma. Claire sighed as she impatiently waited outside the hospital where Kanda was resting. Allen had insisted she go get checked out and now she had nothing to do while she waited for Kanda to recover. She perked up as he walked out with Toma close behind him. "Wow, you heal fast."

Kanda simply shrugged. "Why aren't you with Moyashi?"

Claire glared at him and kicked him in the shin. "Stop calling Allen that! And...I didn't like it…listening to Lala sing…she's not Lala anymore…"

Kanda sighed. He briefly placed a hand on top of Claire's head before withdrawing it. "Let's go."

Claire blinked but began to follow the retreating Kanda. "Where?"

"To get that damn Moyashi and the Innocence." Kanda answered plainly.

Claire huffed when Kanda called Allen his rude nickname but said nothing. She perked up when she reached the steps where Allen was sitting, his head resting on his knees and his arms hanging limply over them. "Allen!"

Allen didn't even glance up when he felt Claire's warm arms wrap around him. He could feel her head resting on his shoulder and one of her hands playing with his hair. "Hello…"

Kanda frowned at the forlorn tone in Allen's voice but brushed it off as he sat a few steps below Allen. "I will be going on to my next mission. You and Damn Chibi Chibi are to deliver the Innocence to Headquarters."

"Understood." Allen said glumly.

Claire frowned. "Allen…"

"Why don't you just make the doll stop?" Kanda asked. "It's not like it's Lala anymore."

Allen shook his head. "No. Their promise was that Gozul would be the only one to break her."

Claire was about to comfort Allen but the wind suddenly picked up. When it died down, the sound of Lala's sad lullaby could no longer be heard. Claire remained on the steps while Allen rushed off. She didn't want to see the doll broken.

Kanda stared at her for a moment. "You stay here." He said before following after Allen.

Claire didn't argue with Kanda for once. She plopped down on the steps to wait for the two Exorcists to return. She blinked when Toma sat beside her. "Hi, Uncle Toma."

Toma patted her head and stared out over the city. "That doll…she reminded me of your mother."

"Really?" Claire asked, tilting her head to the side. Though Toma had already promised to tell her about her mother, he always seemed hesitant about it.

"Yes. She too wanted only to be broken by the man she loved the most. She was willing to forsake everything for that man…" Toma glared off into the distance, his hands clenching into fists.

"Did you ever meet my father?" Claire asked softly.

Toma shook his head. "No. But, I do know that he is the reason your mother died. When I find him…" He blinked and seemed to snap from his rage. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't speak of such things to you."

"No, it's okay. I want to know about her." Claire answered.

Toma smoothed Claire's wild blonde hair down. "You look just like her when she was a child. Though, she wasn't anywhere near as outspoken as you."

Claire grinned. "I got that from Master Cross!" She looked up as Allen and Kanda reappeared. She stood up and rushed over to Allen to hug him.

Allen smiled gratefully at her and hugged her back. "Well, I suppose we will be parting ways for now."

Kanda nodded stiffly to him. "Don't lose it. Toma will go with the two of you back to Headquarters." He snapped out.

Claire glanced at Kanda but said nothing to him. As they parted ways, she looked over her shoulder. She frowned when Kanda disappeared around a corner. She tugged on Allen's sleeve. "Wait here, Allen." Before Allen could say anything, she rushed back towards Kanda. When she saw them, she took a deep breath and yelled, "Stupid Kanda!"

Startled by the loud scream, Kanda was not prepared when he turned around in time to get tackled by Claire. He barely managed to keep his footing. He blinked down at Claire. "What are you doing, Damn Chibi Chibi?"

Claire simply hugged Kanda tighter. "I still don't like you. You're a big meanie and you say mean things to me and Allen, but…" She looked up at Kanda's dumbfounded face. "thank you…for saving me and Allen."

She then released Kanda and rushed off back to where she left Allen. She grinned as she ran over and grabbed Allen's hand.

Allen smiled at her as he held her hand tightly in his. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes!" Claire grinned as she walked hand-in-hand with Allen back to the train station to go home to Headquarters.

* * *

**Reviews make the Mei-chan very happy!**


	10. Welcome Home

**Whoohoo! Over 100 reviews! You guys are awesome!**

**-Pon: Thank you so much for giving this story a chance! I'm terrible at summaries…**

**Sakura02: Lol, yeah, Claire just didn't care at that point that he started bleeding again. We just have to deal with Komui's robot and then we'll be moving on to Miranda!**

**SaiyukiSucker: Lol, I'm glad you love Kanda again! I love him so much but I just kind of pictured him being a bit of a jerk at first to Claire. They'll get along…slightly better now :)**

**XeniaKunoichi: Almost! We just have to deal with the crazy robot and then the next update will be the Rewinding Town arc**

**Thanks: lovelyanimeangel, Skye Leiko, Panda-Hiroko, Angel Fantasy, random idiot person, and lilanimefan247 for reviewing!**

* * *

"Claire, wake up." Allen cooed at the sleeping child in his arms. He smiled warmly at her as she slowly opened her eyes and stared sleepily at him. "We're back." He whispered.

Claire yawned and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was only half-awake as she buried her head in Allen's neck. "What time is it?"

"Just past midnight." Toma answered. He smiled over at Claire. "Perhaps it would be better to wait to talk about your mother until tomorrow."

Allen smiled as Claire nodded over at Toma. "What are we supposed to do with the Innocence?" He asked.

"Go to the Science Department." Toma answered. "Someone should still be awake."

Claire, more awake now, hopped out of Allen's arms. She tugged impatiently on his robe. "I want to give the Innocence to them! Can I, Allen?"

Before Allen could respond, a loud boom shook the building. He looked down when he heard a thump at his feet. "Lenalee!" He gasped out.

"Oh, you two are back." Reever gasped out as he walked slowly down the stairs.

Claire's eyes widened in horror as Reever fell forward onto Allen. "Reever, what happened? Is everyone okay?"

Reever looked warily around. "You guys have to get out of here. Komlin is coming…"

Claire's unasked question was answered when a giant robot crashed through the wall. She stared up in awe before breaking out into a fit of giggles. "It has a beret on its head! What a silly robot!" She blinked as the robot turned to face the group.

"Located, Lenalee Lee, Allen Walker, and Claire. Three Exorcists located." The robot said.

"Um, Allen…" Claire tugged on his sleeve as the group slowly stood up. "I think we should run."

"It's time for surgery!" The robot cried as it began chasing the group.

Claire screamed and while the others ran, she activated her Innocence and began flying. "Why is that thing chasing us!" She whined out. "I just wanna go to bed!"

"It's a robot that Supervisor Komui made." Reever panted out as the group continued to run. "As you can see, it's currently out of control."

Allen looked frantically over at him as the group dodged falling debris. "And why is that?"

"Well," Reever sighed out as they hid behind a wall to catch their breath. "Supervisor made the robot to try and help lighten the Science Department's load but it accidentally drank the supervisor's coffee and kind of malfunctioned." He chuckled at the blank stare Claire gave him. He reached up and plucked her from the air to hold her. "Sorry I don't have a better story." He smiled at both her and Allen. "Welcome back, both of you."

Claire watched as Allen's eyes widened. She knew he was thinking about Mana. Though Allen had never actually spoken to her about Mana, he had talked about the man enough in his sleep for Claire to know who he was. She smiled and hugged Reever. "We're home! Right, Allen?"

Allen blinked from his stupor before smiling shakily. "Yes…we're home."

"Hey, are you guys alive?" The Science Department was all on a floating platform in the middle of the tower. Johnny grinned and waved over at Claire and Allen. "Hey, you two!"

"Hurry up and get over here, guys!" The Science Department cried out.

Claire screamed as the wall behind them was suddenly ripped apart by Komlin and the group was thrown against the railing. She was about to fly over to where the Science Department was when the platform suddenly began spinning and shooting ammo everywhere. "Why are they shooting at us?" She wailed as Reever held her close.

"Are you guys trying to kill us?" Reever yelled once the canon stopped shooting.

"Sorry!" The group called. "There was a traitor!"

Claire blinked as she saw the group tying Komui up and forcing him to walk out on the canon. "You science people are really weird."

Reever chuckled nervously. "Yeah…"

Komui whined as he looked at the robot. "Komlin, Allen's Anti-Akuma weapon is broken. Go fix it."

Claire blinked as Allen's leg was grabbed and a door opened in the middle of Komlin. "Allen!" She screamed as the arm dragged Allen towards the entrance. She scrambled out of Reever's arms and grabbed onto Allen's hand. She dug her heels into the ground but Allen continued to be dragged towards the entrance. "Komui, make it let go of Allen!"

Allen activated his Innocence and attempted to shoot the robot. He gasped as he was shot with a tranquilizer blow dart. "I…can't…move…"

"Allen!" Claire screamed as the robot yanked him away from her. She rushed forward just as the doors closed and managed to, along with Reever, grab the hem of Allen's jacket. "Allen! Let my Allen go, you stupid robot!" She gasped as the robot suddenly began floating in the air. "It's going to get Lenalee next!"

Komlin rushed forward in an attempt to capture Lenalee. It looked around when it saw she was gone, ignoring the people dangling from it. "Exorcist?"

"Lenalee!" Claire cheered when she saw Lenalee standing dazedly on top of the canon.

Lenalee blinked slowly as she looked at Claire. "Claire…you're back. I heard Allen's voice earlier….is he here?"

Claire began wailing. "The stupid robot ate Allen!"

Lenalee activated her Innocence and leapt from the canon as the robot attempted to grab her. She swung her leg forward and broke the lens that served as the robot's eye.

"Lenalee is amazing!" Claire cheered while still holding onto Allen's jacket.

Reever grinned at her. "Nobody can catch Lenalee when she's activated her Innocence; Dark Boots." His grin widened as Lenalee used her Innocence to slice Komlin in half. He peered around the corner to find Allen with Timcanpy bandaged to his head. "Are you all right, Allen?"

Claire flew around the corner and hugged Allen tightly. "I was scared the robot killed you!" She whined.

Allen, still slightly paralyzed and dazed simply nodded his head. "I…think…I'm okay…"

Claire flew beside Reever as he climbed over to the canon with Allen on his back. She glared at Komui as he stood protectively in front of what remained of Komlin. "Lenalee, hurry up and destroy that stupid robot."

Komui whined. "Please don't! It's not Komlin's fault; it's the coffee! You should hate the crime, not the person and such so you should hate the coffee and not Komui." He smiled hopefully at Lenalee.

Lenalee simply stared blankly at him before kicking him off the canon. "Go think about what you did."

Claire made a quick mental note to never anger Lenalee as Komui fell to the bottom of the tower. She yawned widely. Now that all the excitement was over, she was rather sleepy. She felt her eyes drifting shut and someone catching her as her Innocence deactivated.

* * *

Claire yelped as she was rudely awakened by her pillow sitting up. She looked blearily around and realized it had been Allen she had been using. She yawned before smiling at Lenalee. "Good morning, Lenalee!"

Lenalee smiled at the two. "I'm sorry for all the trouble my brother caused. Welcome back, both of you."

"We're back." Both Allen and Claire said together.

Claire blinked as the loud sound of arguing rang through the room where the two of them were resting. She grinned when she saw Reever and the others coming over. "You're all alive!"

Johnny grinned. "Yeah. We're having to repair the tower no thanks to our Supervisor….um…about you two's rooms…they kind of got destroyed."

"Aw, I liked my room." Claire sighed out.

Johnny grinned at the two. "Welcome back, Claire, Allen."

Lenalee smiled as Claire yawned yet again. She picked up the exhausted child and turned to leave. "Claire can stay with me tonight. Why don't you take the Innocence to Hevlaska while I get Claire ready for bed, Allen."

Claire didn't protest at all as Lenalee carried her to her room. She sighed in content as her back connected with the soft bed. She looked sleepily at Lenalee as the teenager disappeared behind a divider and emerged a moment later in a nightgown.

Lenalee sighed as she held another nightgown in her hand. "All of yours got destroyed so you'll just have to borrow one of mine for now." Lenalee helped Claire change and squealed as the too big nightgown slipped off Claire's shoulders. "You are just to adorable for words." She cooed as she hugged Claire.

Claire smiled and allowed Lenalee to snuggle with her as Lenalee tucked the two of them into bed. It was a nice, comforting feeling to know that no matter how many missions her and Allen went on, they would always have this place to return to. She hugged Lenalee back and smiled as she drifted off to sleep. "I'm home."

Lenalee smiled and kissed the top of Claire's head. "Welcome home, Claire."

**

* * *

**

**All right! Next update will be the beginning of the Rewind Town arc which means Miranda! Review please!**


	11. Miranda Lotto

**Let the Rewinding Arc begin!**

**fictiongurl3553: There's not really a pairing in this story. Claire will get a crush on a couple of people but there's not any pairings planned for this story**

**Sakura02: Lol, yeah I had actually forgotten about this whole chapter until I went to write it.**

**Thank you: lovelyanimeangel, Skye Leiko, SaiyukiSucker, XeniaKunoichi, lilanimefan247, Shagya-Curtis is Offline, sakura2112, Panda-Hiroko, and Rakuen91 for your reviews**

* * *

Claire sighed as she sat in the tiny restaurant with Lenalee. The two were waiting on Allen to return from scouting around the town. Claire looked down at the mission report in front of her. "So, this town has been going through the same day over and over? That must be really boring."

Lenalee chuckled. "I don't think they realize that they're living the same day." Lenalee frowned as she looked out the window. "I wonder where Allen is. I hope he didn't run into any trouble.

"It's okay." Claire grinned. "No matter what it is, Allen won't lose. Allen's invincible!"

Lenalee couldn't help but to smile at the determined look on Claire's face. She remembered what it was like to be that young and believe the person you looked up to was unbeatable. She blinked when she saw Allen come into the restaurant. "Over here, Allen!"

Allen yelped as he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a flying blur. "Hello, Claire." He chuckled as he stood up with the little girl still attached to him.

"You shouldn't worry us like that, Allen!" Claire whined. "Lenalee was really scared that you got hurt!"

"Sorry," Allen said as he slid into the booth with Claire now sitting in his lap. "I got a bit sidetracked." Allen then launched into a story of how he had come across an Akuma attacking a woman and saying something about an Innocence. "Here," he handed Lenalee a picture he had drawn of the woman. "this is her."

Lenalee blinked and looked dubiously between Allen and the less than impressive drawing of the woman. "Allen…you have no drawing talent, do you? Besides, how could you possibly lose track of her?"

"She's a fast runner." Allen protested as he began shoveling food into his mouth.

Claire tuned the two out and went back to staring out the window. It had been three months now since she and Allen had joined the Black Order and they had probably been some of the best months of Claire's life. She loved everybody in the order almost as much as Allen (but not quite). Well, save for one person. Her face turned sour as she thought of Kanda. She disliked him less than when her and Allen had first joined but she still couldn't quite forgive him for how cruelly he treated her Allen. It could also be because every time she thought of Kanda, she thought of the mission with the Akuma.

A chill rushed through her as she replayed the last words of the Akuma in her mind. _"You…"_ The way he had looked at her too…almost as though he recognized her…

"Are you okay, Claire?" Allen asked, clearly worried. "You haven't touched much of your food."

Claire shook the dark thoughts from her mind and smiled at Allen. "I'm okay. I was just…" Her voice trailed off and she screamed. "There's a monster behind you, Lenalee!"

Startled, Allen looked behind Lenalee and his eyes widened. "That's the woman from earlier!"

Lenalee turned slowly around and came face to face with one of the most terrifying women she had ever seen in her life. She suppressed a scream and smiled shakily at the woman.

The woman eyed the three of them dubiously. "Who are you three?"

Allen cleared his throat and gently whapped Claire over the head to stop her from screaming monster. "We're Exorcist."

Claire blinked as the woman shrieked and attempted to run away through the window. She giggled. "She's funny."

After Allen had calmed the woman down, he convinced her to sit with them. "Who are you?"

The woman shifted nervously on the bench. "My name is Miranda Lotto. I'm so glad that there are others who notice how strange this town is. I tried to tell the others but they all told me I was crazy. I was made a fool of…ah but at least I can dodge the poop now."

"Allen, I think she's already crazy." Claire whispered softly to Allen, eying the woman warily. She had never met anyone quite as strange as Miranda and she had met her fair share of strange people in her short life.

Before Allen could reprimand Claire for being rude, Miranda grabbed his hands and began sobbing, screaming at him to help her.

Claire giggled at the positively terrified look on Allen's face. She stiffened as she suddenly noticed Allen looking around the room. "Allen…?"

"Lenalee, take Claire and Miranda back to Miranda's house…" Allen said calmly as he stood up along with three townspeople.

Claire was about to protest when she saw the three giant, terrifying Akuma in front of them. "You sure you can handle them on your own?"

"Yes." Allen smiled briefly at her before turning his attention back to the Akuma. "Now, go."

Claire flew beside Lenalee as she grabbed Miranda and leapt out of the restaurant with her Dark Boots. Claire glanced over her shoulder, worried about whether Allen would be all right. "Lenalee, you take Miranda home. I'm going to circle the town and see if I find anymore Akuma."

"Be careful, Claire!" Lenalee called as she flew off with Miranda.

Claire circled the town a few times but couldn't see anyone else acting strangely. She sighed as she landed at the entrance to the town. It was rather exhausting using her Innocence for extended periods of time like that. After she rested for a moment, she was ready to head off to find Miranda's home.

"Oh, a little angel came down from the sky."

Claire spun around and found a strange looking girl with an umbrella standing behind her. "Why do you have an umbrella? It's not raining, you know."

The girl giggled and knelt down to Claire's level. She patted her on the head before pinching her cheeks. "You are just too precious, Claire."

"How'd you know my name?" Claire asked as she batted the girl's hand away. "Do I know you?"

"No, we've never met before." The girl said. "But, I've wanted to meet you for a long time. My name is Road." The girl stood up and smiled eerily at Claire. "Let's play together the next time we meet."

Claire blinked as Road disappeared out of her sight. She shrugged her shoulders and unfurled her wings. "Weirdo."

She found Miranda's home easily enough due to the woman screaming hysterically. Claire flew through the window and landed on Miranda's bed. "Do you want some hot milk, Miranda? That's what Allen always gives me to calm me down."

"How can you people expect me to be calm in this situation? Those people turned into monsters! And…that boy's arm…!"

Claire tilted her head to the side as a chain with what looked like a strange key on the end flew out from under the collar of Miranda's dress. "What's that?"

Lenalee glanced over in the corner at the large grandfather clock. "Is it a key to that clock?"

Miranda nodded nervously as she clutched tightly to the key. "You must think I'm an idiot for keeping a key like this on a necklace…"

"Nonsense." Lenalee shot Claire a look when Claire opened her mouth. "You must have some special memories with this clock."

Miranda sighed. "Ever since I was little, I've never been good at anything. Even now, as an adult, I can't keep a single job for very long. No one has ever told me thank you. After I got fired from my last job, I saw this clock outside the antique shop about to be thrown away. The owner said it was because the key wouldn't work on it. It was almost like a reflection of myself, being thrown away for being useless. Somehow, I managed to make it work and I bought it." She blinked as Claire was suddenly standing before her. "Yes?"

Claire grinned at her and patted her head. "Don't worry, Miranda. Everybody is good at something. It just takes some people a lot longer to figure out what their good out. I'm sure someday, you'll figure it out."

Lenalee smiled approvingly at Claire for trying to cheer Miranda up. She blinked as the door suddenly swung open to reveal a slightly battered Allen. "Are you okay, Allen?"

Allen explained to them what had happened while Lenalee took care of his wounds. He flinched as Claire suddenly slapped his injured leg. "What was that for?"

"You're such an idiot, Allen!" Claire sniffled out. "Next time, no matter what you say, I'm staying and helping you! You can't deal with three level 2 Akuma all alone!"

Allen sighed before smiling and picking Claire up. "I'm sorry. I made you worry again, didn't I? I won't do it again, promise."

Claire puffed her cheeks out and pulled on Allen's. "Liar." She glanced up when she heard Miranda muttering darkly to herself while she cleaned the clock. "I think she needs some hot milk, Allen."

Allen bit back a laugh as he went over to Miranda. "Excuse me, Ms. Miranda…"

"I can't do anything!" Miranda shouted. "You people have great powers so hurry up and help this town!"

Allen gave Miranda the same patient smile he gave to Claire when she was throwing a fit. "Okay. We'll help but we're going to need your help as well. You have something to do with the mystery of this town. So, will you help us? Let's make tomorrow come again."

Claire yelped as Miranda suddenly stiffened and stood up as the clock began chiming. She scooted away as Miranda approached her only to collapse onto her bed and fall asleep. Claire stood by the bed and poked her in the head. "She must have been really tired."

"Allen!" Lenalee yelped.

The three Exorcist looked around only to find dozens of clock faces scattered around the room. "They're outside too!" Claire exclaimed as she looked out the window.

"Could it be the clock?" Allen asked as he pulled Claire away from attempting to touch one of the clock faces. He quickly grabbed onto the side of the open window as a sudden gust of wind began pulling all the clock faces back into the old clock. "Lenalee!" He grabbed Lenalee's hand and held Claire tightly to him with his other arm.

"What's going on, Allen?" Claire whined as she buried her face in his jacket.

"It's today's time." Allen answered. "It's getting sucked back into the clock."

Claire felt dizzy as she watched the clock hands spinning backwards faster and faster until they stopped at seven o'clock. Light poured into the room as the clock chimed. "But…But…I didn't get to go to sleep!" Claire whined.

Miranda sat up in the bed and looked around in confusion. "I don't remember going to bed."

"Allen, this town is really weird." Claire muttered.

All Allen could do was nod his head in agreement.


	12. Captured

**XeniaKunoichi: Lol, yes, I'm sorry it took us so long to get here :) Thanks for being so patient with me!**

**Sakura02: That's because Allen's arm if scary and Claire with wings is adorable. You know nobody is scared of Claire :). And yes, I really wanted some milk with nummy cookies after writing this.**

**xXYuseiXAkikoXx: Well, I don't think there will be any romance between Allen and Claire. They have more of a big brother/little sister relationship. I hope you'll keep reading despite this!**

**Thanks to: goldenfightergirl, lovelyanimeangel, sakura2112, (blank), AcPa xox, SaiyukiSucker, and anonymous for reviewing!**

* * *

"Claire, Lenalee, look at me!" Allen called excitedly.

Claire glanced up from the picture she had been drawing at the same time as Miranda and Lenalee. While the two of them screamed at the sight of Allen in the clock, Claire laughed. "You're a Clock Man!"

"What are you doing, Allen?" Lenalee screamed while Miranda continued to panic.

"You can't touch this clock." Allen explained as he stepped out of the clock. "It seems only its master, Miranda, can touch it."

"Are you sure?" Lenalee asked. "Claire, stop that!"

Claire grinned as she hopped in and out of the clock. "This is fun!" She pouted as Allen caught her and picked her up. "So, is this the Innocence?"

"I'm sure it is." Allen grinned.

"I wonder why it's repeating the same day." Claire said thoughtfully. "Do you know, Miranda?"

Miranda thought for a moment. "That was…the day I was fired for the 100th time." She missed Allen smacking Claire upside the head before the child could say anything. "I was very upset. I was sitting by the clock and I said, 'I wish tomorrow would never come'. Do you think that's why?"

"Wow, the Innocence granted Miranda's wish!" Claire said in awe. "I wish my Innocence did that."

"How is that possible?" Miranda shrieked. "I mean, it's just a clock and I was just talking to myself!"

Lenalee thought for a moment. "Miranda, perhaps you're compatible with the Innocence."

"How are we going to make the Innocence stop turning back time?" Lenalee asked.

Claire thought for a moment, tapping her chin. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "The reason you were so sad was because you lost your job, right, Miranda?" Claire asked. At Miranda's affirmative nod, Claire grinned. "Well, what if we got you a new job? You'd be happy right? Then, the Innocence wouldn't need to keep your wish for tomorrow to never come!"

Allen grinned as he kissed Claire's cheek. "You're a genius, Claire!"

* * *

"I look stupid." Claire said through a tight smile as she handed tickets for a play out to passersby. She was wearing a witch costume with a hat that continued to slip over her eyes.

"Don't complain so much." Allen said cheerfully, a giant pumpkin head over his own while he juggled on top of a large ball. "This will help Miranda to be more positive and will stop the Innocence. Besides, we haven't heard from the Akuma these past three days."

Claire sighed as she looked over at Miranda who, for once, actually seemed happy. "Fine. But if you ever try and make me wear a stupid costume like this again, I'll beat you."

Allen laughed as he hopped off the ball. "Fair enough. I'll be right back. I'm going to talk to Lenalee. You help Miranda to keep selling those tickets."

Claire mimicked Allen as he walked away. She blinked when she heard Miranda giggling beside her.

"I'm sorry." Miranda apologized. "It's just, the way you two act together is rather cute. Like a brother and a sister."

"Well, Allen is my big brother." Claire stated as she took a couple's money and handed them their tickets. "Not my real brother. He found me and saved me. I was all alone and I was scared. He took me in and gave me a home. Allen's the most important person to me in the whole world. That's why, even if I don't like it, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he's happy."

Before Miranda could question Claire, a man suddenly appeared and stole the bag of money from her. "Ah, wait!"

Claire looked up in time to see the man disappear down the street. "Allen!" She screamed.

Allen appeared in an instant, taking in Miranda's sobbing figure and Claire's furious face. "What happened?"

"Some jerk just stole all our money!" Claire yelled. "He went that way!"

"Claire, you stay with Miranda." Allen said as he ran off. "Lenalee and I will find the thief!"

"It's okay." Claire said softly to Miranda, patting the woman's shoulder. "Allen will find the guy and beat him up. Everything will be okay."

"Why?" Miranda sobbed. "Why do things always turn out like this? Why does my clock have to be the Innocence?"

Claire continued to try and console Miranda. She tensed when the girl from the other day crouched in front of them. More on instinct than anything else, Claire moved in front of Miranda. "What do you want?" She hissed.

Road simply smiled. "So, your clock is the Innocence?"

Her movements were too fast. The last thing Claire saw before she lost consciousness was Miranda's terrified face. "Allen…help…"

* * *

Claire whimpered as she slowly regained consciousness. She sat up from the floor and looked around at her surroundings. She was in a strange place. Toys and candles floated in the air around her. "Where am I?"

"Ah, you're finally awake." Road said from a chair in the middle of the room. She smiled as she hopped out and sauntered over to Claire. "Good morning, Claire." She sang. "We've been looking for you for a long time. Your mean Mommy wouldn't let us find you."

Claire's eyes widened. She scooted away when Road reached out for her. "You knew my mom?"

A malicious smirk plastered itself onto Road's face. "Oh yes. We took care of her, though. She shouldn't have tried to keep you from us."

"You…" Claire could feel tears welling in her eyes. She didn't remember much of her mother. She barely remembered what her mother even looked like. The only thing she did remember, and the memory she had kept with her all these years, was her mother smiling down at her and whispering to her that she loved her. "You killed her…" she choked out.

"Claire, is that you?" Miranda's shaky voice said from a corner of the room.

"Miranda!" Claire screamed when she saw Miranda's hands were nailed into the clock with large spikes. She glared at Road as she stood up and summoned her Innocence.

Road sighed. "Please don't do that, Claire. I don't want to have to restrain you like I did her."

Claire ignored Road's warning. She began to pull her wings back and suddenly gasped in pain. She was thrown back by the force of the large spikes impaling themselves into her wings. She cried out as the spikes dug into the wall and held her in place. "Let me go!" She cried out. She had never been in so much pain before.

"Now, I told you I didn't want to hurt you." Road said patiently as she knelt in front of Claire. She sighed at the furious glare that Claire gave her. "Now you're mad at me. That's not a good way for us to start off. We're family after all."

"You're not my family!" Claire cried. "Allen and Master Cross and Lenalee…everyone at the Black Order are my family! Not you!"

"Leave her alone!" Miranda shouted as bravely as she could. "She's just a child."

Road glared over at Miranda. "Shut up." She suddenly perked up as the three Akuma from the day before appeared with both Lenalee and Allen in the grasp. "There's our new playmates."

"Allen!" Claire screamed as the Akuma propped him against the wall. Her eyes widened in horror as one of the Akuma took his activated arm and held it to the wall as he began to nail spikes into Allen's arm. "Stop it! Stop it! Leave Allen alone!"

Road smiled as they placed Lenalee in the chair she had previously occupied. "Oh, what a fun doll. I'm going to show you, Claire." She said, not looking over at the crying child. "I'm going to show you how pathetic these Exorcist are. I'm going to show you that you don't belong with them. Just watch."

"Claire…?" Allen slowly regained consciousness. He lifted his hand and reached out to her but she was just out of his reach. "Claire, what's going on?"

"Allen," Claire sniffled out. "Allen, I'm sorry. I couldn't protect Miranda or the Innocence."

"Shhh, it's all right." Allen said softly, trying to soothe her. He winced as he attempted to move his arm and found he couldn't due to the spikes. "Where's Lenalee?"

"Oh, you're finally awake." Road sang as she stepped aside to reveal Lenalee all dressed up.

"What'd you do to her?" Claire cried, seeing Lenalee's empty eyes staring at the floor.

Allen frowned as he looked at her. "You…you aren't an Akuma. Why are you with them? What are you?"

Road grinned eerily. "I'm a human." She giggled at the shocked looks on both Claire and Allen's faces. "You don't think humans and Akuma can be friends?"

"Akuma are weapons of the Millennium Earl!" Claire shouted. "They're used to kill humans like you, Dummy!" Her eyes widened as Road's skin suddenly began darkening to an almost grey color and strange cross like marks appeared in a crown across her forehead.

"Humans can use weapons to kill other humans, can't they?" Road sneered. "The Millennium Earl is my brethren. We are the Chosen Ones, unlike you Exorcists, chosen by a false god. My brethren and I are the true apostles of God. We are the Noah."


	13. Goodbye For Now

**I'm so sorry I haven't updated the past few weeks. August is a rather crazy month for me with school starting, both Texas State and my school that I work at. On top of that, my sister and my wonderful cousin (who is like the big sister I never got) have their birthdays in August and it was my parents 25****th**** anniversary and I planned a surprise party for them. Updates should be more scheduled now but keep in mind that I do have a full course load which means lots of reading and studying so their may be some weeks where I don't update. Thank you for understanding!**

**Sakura02: Dun Dun Duuun….**

**TREEE: When my sister drew the picture, I hadn't yet thought Claire up. Now, sadly, my sister no longer likes anime so she won't draw pictures for me :(**

**kayla: Allen is still the 14****th****, don't worry.**

**bluenari: I would love it if you drew a picture of Claire :) Send me a message when you've posted it!**

**Thank you: AcPa xox, SaiyukiSucker, cherry-888, Skye Leiko, lovelyanimeangel, Trissica, anonymous, and XeniaKunoichi for reviewing**

* * *

"Noah? What's that?" Claire asked, her furious glare never wavering from her face. She didn't like the girl before her one bit. If she could just get loose, she could save everyone. If she could just get loose…

"Mistress Road, you mustn't say anything more!" An umbrella with a jack-o-lantern on the end floated beside Road, looking distressed. "It is forbidden for you tell outsiders about us!"

Road pouted at the umbrella. "But, Lero, Claire is one of us. She needs to know."

"I'm not!" Claire screamed. "I'm not a monster like you! I'm not! I'm not!" She strained against the spikes but they remained in place. She blinked as Allen ripped his arm from the wall. "Allen!"

Road stared at Allen for a moment as he simply sat on the ground. "Why are you mad? Can you not believe that I'm a human?" She was suddenly kneeling in front of Allen, her arms wrapped around him. "I'm warm, aren't I? It's like two people hugging."

"Get off him!" Claire screamed. She could feel the spikes loosening as she continued to struggle. It hurt, though, like her wings were getting torn from her back. She gasped as Road grabbed Allen's Innocence activated hand and hit herself with it. "Why'd she…"

Road giggled as she grabbed Allen's collar, her face slowly reconstructing itself. "We Noah aren't the same as you pathetic humans. We are the descendants of Noah, the oldest apostles in human history and we have inherited his genes. We're super humans." She grabbed one of the spiked candles floating in the air and stabbed Allen in the eye.

Allen's scream of agony was what finally made Claire rip herself from the wall. She gasped in pain but ignored it as best she could. "You monster!" She screamed at Road, sending a volley of spiked feathers at the smirking Noah.

"Claire, don't be like that." Road sighed as she easily dodged the feathers. She frowned as Claire rushed to Allen's side and supported him, lightly dabbing at the blood running from his eye with her sleeve. "Really, Claire, how can you stand such weak and pathetic humans? They should all just die, you know. Even God wants them all to die. That's why he gave the Millennium Earl and us Noah the Akuma."

"Shut up!" Claire said through her tears, glaring hatefully at Road. "If you ever hurt Allen or any of my other friends, I swear I'll kill you." She blinked when Allen's hand rested on her shoulder and gently squeezed it. "Allen…?"

"Don't." Allen said, a smile on his face despite his pain. "I don't ever want to hear such hateful words come from you ever again. That's not the way my Claire would talk."

Claire lowered her head, resting it gently against Allen's chest. "I'm sorry, Allen. I just…she hurt you…"

Allen lifted Claire's face up and smiled at her. "I'm okay. It's going to be okay." He stood up and glared at Road, placing himself between her and Claire. "What you speak of, that's not God. That's the Devil!" He rushed forward to attack Road.

Road sighed as the three Akuma appeared in front of her. "You just don't learn."

"Allen!" Claire screamed as he was thrown back into the wall by the Akuma. She shook his shoulders. "Allen, get up!" She looked up as the Akuma approached her.

"Don't touch her!" Road snapped at the three. "I don't need her father getting angry with me." She turned her attention to Miranda. "You, on the other hand…I suppose I should let you go now."

Claire looked between Allen's unconscious form and Miranda's trembling one. She didn't want to leave Allen's side, but Miranda was in trouble. Making a quick decision, Claire flew in front of Miranda and sent a volley of feathers at the candles, slicing them in half. "Are you okay, Miranda?"

Miranda whimpered as tears poured down her face. "I think so."

"Hold on." Claire said as she began tugging at the spikes impaled into Miranda's hands. "I'll get you out of here."

Road sighed as she floated in the air. "Claire, stop interfering." She whined. "I don't wanna hurt you, but naughty children need to be punished."

Claire spun around and stuck her tongue out at Road. "Shut up. You aren't Allen or Master Cross so you can't tell me what to do."

Road sighed as she prepared another volley of spiked candles. "You better move, Claire."

"I won't." Claire said stubbornly, preparing to protect Miranda. As the candles rushed towards her and Miranda, she pulled her wings back, ready to attack. She flinched. The wounds from where the spikes had been made it extremely painful to use her wings. She gasped as she was suddenly pressed between Miranda's back and a familiar chest. "Allen!"

She barely registered Allen freeing Miranda or Miranda running away. All she knew was that blood from Allen was dripping onto her upturned face. "Allen?" She reached up and brushed the hair framing his face away. "Allen, are you okay?"

Miranda trembled, her back pressed against the wall a few feet away. "Allen, please don't die…"

Allen smiled first at Claire and then at Miranda. "I'm okay."

"Liar." Claire whispered. She clutched the front of Allen's shirt tightly and rested her head against his chest. "Why'd you do something stupid like that? I would've protected Miranda. You didn't have to get hurt…" She blinked as she was once again squished between two people. "Miranda, what are you doing?"

Miranda, whom was trembling rather badly, smiled shakily at Claire and then turned her terrified eyes to the Akuma. She laughed nervously. "I…I really don't know what I'm doing. I mean, what can a pathetic human do against these monsters? But…I…"

Claire blinked as the space around them suddenly glowed. Her eyes widened as a giant clock face suddenly floated in the air before tiny clocks seemed to float from the wounds of not only Miranda, but Allen and Claire as well. The clocks joined the giant clock face and formed a shield around the three. "Wow…" Claire breathed as she saw that there were no longer gaping holes in her wings. "Miranda, you're amazing!"

Allen suddenly sat up, looking at his once injured hand in surprise. He blinked as Claire suddenly latched onto him. He smiled and patted her head. "I'm sorry. I made you worry again, didn't I." He turned his attention to Miranda, the warm smile still on his face. "I get it now, Miranda. You're the accommodator of this Innocence after all."

"Lenalee is still out there." Claire said, flapping her wings gently, pleased to find that they no longer hurt.

"I'll take care of that." Allen stretched his arm out and activated his Innocence. He shot his arm through the shield and in the direction he knew the chair holding Lenalee was. As soon as he had it in his grasp, he yanked his arm back into the shield.

"Lenalee!" Claire called out to the still comatose looking girl. "Did she get hurt?"

"I don't think so." Allen frowned as he attempted to open up Lenalee's tightly closed fist. "Her nerves may have gone into shock from the one Akuma's sound wave attack." He stepped forward when he saw the tiny clocks flowing out of Lenalee.

Lenalee suddenly blinked and looked frantically around. "I'm awake. What happened? Where are we? Why am I dressed so strangely?"

"You're okay!" Claire cried out as she crawled into Lenalee's lap and hugged the Exorcist tightly. "We were really worried about you, Lenalee!"

Lenalee smiled, opening her hand and allowing Timcanpy to fly out into Allen's face. "I'm so glad you're okay, Claire. So, what happened?"

Claire grinned at Miranda whom was kneeling in front of Lenalee with a relieved look on her face. "Miranda's Innocence saved us!"

Miranda was taken aback. "Me? How?"

It was Allen who spoke this time. "The Innocence you invoked sucked out the time when we were injured." He smiled brightly at Miranda. "Thank you, Miranda."

Claire looked up when she heard the Akuma screaming outside the shield. She stretched her wings and floated a few feet above the ground. "What are we going to do about those guys?"

Lenalee smiled as she activated her Innocence. "Leave it to me."

Claire watched in awe as Lenalee sent a blast of wind with her Dark Boots and flew out of the shield, followed closing by Allen. Claire went to follow the two but was stopped by Miranda grabbing her wrist. "What's wrong, Miranda?"

"Please be careful, Claire." Miranda said softly.

"Don't worry." Claire grinned as she flew to the top of the shield. "We won't lose." By the time she got out of the shield, Allen had already destroyed one of the Akuma and both Allen and Lenalee were facing off against Road. She frowned when she saw the angry look on Allen's face.

Road hummed as she happily spelled Allen's name in the air. "Allen Walker, the one who sees the Akuma's souls. The Earl told me all about you. You became an Exorcist in order to save the souls of the Akuma because you were cursed by your dear foster father."

Claire glared at Road. Again, someone had said something about Allen's past that Allen had never shared with Claire. "Allen…"

"That's why I swore I'd go after you." Road said with a warm smile that looked strange on her. She plopped down on top of the umbrella. "You, Akuma, self destruct. Start the countdown, Umbrella."

"Hey, what are you doing?" Claire shouted angrily. "He's your ally, isn't he?"

Road giggled. "You're so cute, Claire. I'm doing this for Allen. Don't you know? If an Akuma is destroyed by anything other than Innocence, the soul inside is destroyed along with the dark matter."

Before Claire could say anything, two things happened simultaneously. The umbrella reached zero and Allen rushed forward. "Allen!" Claire screamed as the Akuma exploded. Claire shielded her face from the explosion. When she lowered her arms, she saw the Lenalee had managed to save Allen from the explosion. She rushed forward, eager to make sure that Allen was okay.

Allen glared furiously at Lenalee. "Why the hell did you stop me?"

Lenalee glared right back at Allen before slapping him. "Because you're my friend! Why else? Think more carefully before you throw yourself into an explosion! What would Claire have done if you had been killed?"

Allen looked up at that moment to see Claire standing a few feet from them, crying. "Claire!" He rushed over to her and immediately pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't…I didn't think about you. I'm sorry."

Road giggled and clapped her hands in delight. "You humans are so funny! I didn't expect you to actually try and jump into the explosion. But, you really should think before you act. What about that woman?"

Claire whipped around in time to see the remaining Akuma flying towards Miranda and the shield. "Leave Miranda alone!" At the same time that Claire launched her feathers at the Akuma, Allen turned his arm into a cannon and shot at it.

The Akuma cackled as it easily deflected their attacks. Before it could continue on its mission to kill Miranda, Lenalee sliced it in half with her Dark Boots.

"I guess that's enough playtime for today." Road sang as she lightly stepped onto the ground. "You guys are a lot more fun than I thought you'd be." She summoned what looked like a fancy cabinet from the ground. "See you later."

Allen glared hatefully at Road and put the barrel of his cannon against the back of her head.

Road simply smiled. "You must really hate me, Allen. Go ahead, shoot me."

"Stop it!" Claire yelled at Road, seeing the tears rolling down Allen's cheeks. "Quit hurting Allen."

Road simply smiled and stepped away from Allen. She knelt in front of Claire and kissed her on the forehead before standing up and going over to the now open cabinet. "Come home soon, Claire." She then disappeared along with the cabinet.

"It's okay, Allen." Claire whispered as she went over to Allen and hugged him. "It's okay."

Allen said nothing and simply wrapped one arm around Claire. "Claire, do you know that girl?"

Claire shook her head. "No. I've never seen her before this. Honest." She blinked as the room around them began to crumble. "Allen, what's happening?"

Allen held tightly to Claire and looked over at Miranda and Lenalee. He reached out for them but the ground beneath him and Claire fell apart. He held tightly to Claire as the two fell through black space before finally landing with a thud in…

"Is this Miranda's apartment?" Claire asked as she cautiously looked around.

"Allen, Claire! Something's wrong with Miranda!" Lenalee's voice shouted from around the corner.

Claire rushed forward along with Allen to find Lenalee holding a trembling Miranda up. Claire knelt in front of Miranda and forced the woman's face up. "What's wrong, Miranda? Are you hurt?"

Allen frowned as he noticed the clocks coming towards them. "Miranda, you have to stop the Innocence. Your body can't withstand having it invoked any longer."

"I can't." Miranda cried. "If I do, the time it sucked out will return. You'll all get those horrible injuries again. You thanked me…if I stop the Innocence now, it'll lose it's meaning." She blinked as Claire suddenly hugged her tightly around the neck.

"It's okay, Miranda." Claire whispered. "We'll be okay. I barely got hurt as it is."

Allen grinned at Miranda. "I can deal with my injuries. As long as I'm alive, they'll heal."

Lenalee smiled and nodded. "He's right, Miranda. Please, stop it."

Claire sucked in a sharp breath as the wounds on her wings returned. It stung but that pain was nothing compared to seeing Allen unconscious and seriously wounded alongside Lenalee. "Miranda, go get help. I'll stay with them."

As Miranda rushed off to find help, Claire sat between Lenalee and Allen's unconscious forms. Everything that had happened swirled around in her mind, specifically everything Road had said. She yawned, feeling rather tired all of the sudden. She rested her head against the wall and fell asleep.

* * *

"She's awfully tiny." An unfamiliar voice said.

"Most children are." Another voice said.

Slowly, Claire opened her eyes. She looked around before sitting up rather quickly. Her eyes fell on a boy that was sitting by her bed. He had fiery red hair that was held up by a bandana around his forehead. What struck her the most was that he had an eye patch over his right eye. "Where am I? Where's Allen and Lenalee and Miranda? Who are you?"

The boy blinked before grinning. "Wow, Komui wasn't kidding when he said you talked a lot. You're in a hospital. Allen and Lenalee are resting in other rooms and Miranda is getting ready to leave. I'm Lavi. It's nice to meet you, Claire."

Claire nodded slowly before her eyes widened. "Miranda's leaving? Where is she?" Before Lavi could even answer Claire had leapt from the bed and ran out of the door, ignoring the old man leaning against the wall. She ran to the entrance of the hospital in time to see Miranda leaving. "Miranda!"

Miranda paused and turned around. She smiled as Claire ran over to her and hugged her. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake any of you."

"You weren't even going to say goodbye?" Claire asked, clearly upset as she looked up at Miranda.

"I left a note." Miranda knelt down in front of Claire. "Don't worry, we'll see each other soon. I'm an Exorcist now, Claire. Now, you be a good girl and take care of Allen, okay?"

Claire grinned and nodded her head. She hugged Miranda one last time and kissed her cheek. "Thank you, Miranda. You're the best."

Miranda blushed as she stood up and quickly walked away.

Claire stood in the cold air for a moment after Miranda had disappeared around the corner. She looked up at the grey sky that reminded her of Road's skin, the skin of a Noah. "Who's my father…?"


	14. Lavi and the New Mission

**I hate when people try and say I don't understand things because I'm so "young". I've been working with kids for just as long as some of the parents have had their own. At least I don't think it's funny when a kid eats staples.**

**Sakura02: Yes, it was a bit of a long one…I wanted to hurry and get to Krorykins and Claire's daddy :)**

**Thanks: AcPa xox, Anime girl122, Belletiger BT, lovelyanimeangel, anonymous, SageofAges729, rockbabyval, and XeniaKunoichi for reviewing!**

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"You know, you don't have to sit out here." Lavi bent down in front of Claire, smiling at the pouting child sitting outside Allen's room.

Claire blinked at him. "Allen doesn't want me to come in. He says I'll get upset if I see his eye. He knows I don't like seeing him hurt." She frowned as Lavi continued to grin at her. "Why are you so happy?"

Lavi's smile faltered. The little girl hadn't asked the question maliciously. It was an honest question of curiosity. He looked up at the ceiling, thinking for a moment. "I'm really not sure." He stood up and held his hand out to her. "Come on. Let's go in and see how Allen is doing."

Claire stared at his hand for a moment. Hesitantly, she put her hand in his, allowing the teenager to pull her up from the ground and lead her into the room.

"Claire…" Allen smiled as Claire ran over to him and crawled into his lap. He saw no point in trying to cover his regenerating eye since Claire had already seen it. "It's all right. It's getting better."

Claire nodded, saying nothing. She hated Road for what she had done to Allen. She frowned as the old man stared at her. "What?"

The old man straightened up. "So, you're the little girl that's future is unclear."

"Yes, I am. Who are you?" Claire asked.

"I am a bookman. For reasons I cannot tell you, we bookmen have become Exorcists. You may simply call me, Bookman. That child over there is Lavi."

Claire stared at Lavi, still grinning at her from the wall. "He doesn't look like a child." She blinked as Allen stood up with her in his arms. "Where are you going, Allen?"

Allen smiled down at her as he walked out of the room with her. "I'm going to go talk to Komui. Why don't you go play outside. You like the snow."

"But, I…" Claire frowned as Allen walked off, leaving her alone in the hallway. "I only like playing in the snow when you play with me…" She muttered. Sighing, Claire left the hospital, staying in the front courtyard. She kicked the snow up into the air in front of her, humming thoughtfully to herself. She missed Miranda already and she wanted Lenalee to hurry up and wake up. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice Lavi and Allen come outside until Lavi grabbed her sides and tickled her mercilessly. She screamed, flailing her arms around.

Lavi grinned as he sat Claire on the ground. "How's the cute little angel doing?"

Claire glared at Lavi. "Fine until you decided to be a meanie head." Her face lit up when she saw Allen with a bandage over his eye. She rushed over to him and hugged him tightly. "How's Lenalee doing?"

Allen smiled at Claire, leading her over to a bank of snow. "She's doing fine. She should wake up soon. Do you want to build a snowman?"

Lavi chuckled at how enthusiastically Claire nodded her head. He began building his own snowman while Claire and Allen worked together to make one. "So, how old are you, Claire?"

"I'm six." Claire answered. "Allen found me when I was three."

"I'm 15." Allen said when Lavi glanced over at him.

Lavi nodded, his grin plastered on his face. "I'm 18 which means I'm your elder. You guys can just call me Lavi, though. Some people call me Junior. Let's see, I'll call you Chibi Chibi." He grinned when Claire shot him a glare. "And I'll call you, Moyashi. That's what Yu calls the both of you, 'cept he calls Claire 'Damn Chibi Chibi."

Claire frowned. "You mean Stupid Kanda?"

"Yup. That's Kanda's first name. Call him that next time you see him; he'll give you the evil eye."

Claire grinned evilly, already planning different ways to torture Kanda with this newfound information. "I can't wait to get back home."

Allen couldn't help the small smile when he heard Claire call the Black Order home. He frowned when he saw the serious look on Lavi's usually grinning face. "What's wrong?"

"Well, it might be a while before you go back." Lavi said. "This next mission is going to be a big one. The Earl is on the move again. The appearance of the Noah is proof of that." He glanced over at Claire. "They're really interested in you, it seems."

Claire bristled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't care. I hate them." She blinked as Allen grabbed her hand and led her away. "Allen?"

"We're going for a walk." Allen directed to Lavi. "You can go in without us."

"Allen, what's wrong?" Claire asked as Allen led her to through the town. "Are you upset because of what Road said? Don't be. I don't wanna go with her. I wanna stay with you. I won't ever leave you, Allen, I promise. Please don't be upset."

Allen paused. He smiled down at Claire when he saw how upset she looked, tears standing at the corner of her eyes. He knelt down and hugged her tightly. "Don't cry. I'm not mad at you. I could never be angry with you. It's just…everything's so…" He frowned as he straightened up, looking around.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked. "Is it an Akuma?"

"I…I don't know." Allen muttered, feeling unnerved. "I can't see anything."

Claire looked up to ask Allen what he meant. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw what had once been a toddler on his mother's back, was now an Akuma with a gun coming out of the side of it's face, pressing against the back of Allen's head. "Allen!"

Allen was thrown forward by a blast from behind him. Instinctively, he reached out and wrapped Claire in his arms to protect her from whatever the blast was. He finally dared to look up when he realized he hadn't been killed by an Akuma. His eyes widened. "Lavi!"

Claire peered around the protection of Allen's arms. "Wow." Was all she could say when she saw the giant hammer that had destroyed the Akuma, Lavi perched casually on top of it.

Lavi grinned at the two. "You guys should get up. We've got company coming."

Indeed, Claire could sense the presence of many Akuma in the area. She frowned, not able to quite pinpoint where the energy was coming from. Instinctively, she reached out and grabbed Allen's hand. "Let's get out of here." She whispered.

"She's right, you know." Lavi said, hopping off of his hammer, said weapon shrinking down. "Busy streets are way too dangerous."

Allen nodded slowly, his grip on Claire's hand tightening. He looked around with his one good eye, trying to see if there was another incoming attack. It wasn't long before it came. Allen quickly wrapped Claire in his arms, using his body to shield her.

"Are you okay, Allen?" Claire asked, helping Allen straighten up. She looked around, trying to find the source of the attack. Her eyes widened when she saw a giant Akuma on top of a building.

"Leave him to me." Lavi grinned at Claire, ruffling the little girl's hair. He spun the hammer around in his hand, the grin never leaving his face. "Big hammer, little hammer, grow, grow, grow!"

"That's so cool!" Claire squealed as Lavi's hammer grew.

Lavi's grin widened. "You haven't seen anything yet, Claire Bear."

Claire's look of joy immediately vanished and she glared at Lavi. "That's got to be the dumbest nickname ever."

"It's either that or Chibi Chibi." Lavi sang as he sent the Akuma's incoming attack flying like a baseball.

Claire crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. "Fine. I still think it sounds stupid…um…Lavi…shouldn't you pay attention to where you're swinging the hammer?" She flinched as the hammer smashed into the side of a building. "You're gonna get in trouble." She sang.

"Nah." Lavi chuckled nervously, shrinking his hammer. "Komui will pay for it." His eyes narrowed as people were screaming and pointing an officer towards them. He pushed Claire behind him. "Claire Bear, you can sense them, can't you?"

"Yes…but…there's so many of them…" Claire frowned as she scrunched her eyes shut, trying to find the Akuma. "I can't tell who is one and who isn't."

As soon as the officer reached the group, Lavi pointed his hammer right in the officer's face. "Get. Back."

"What are you doing, Lavi?" Claire screamed, alarmed by Lavi's suddenly cold demeanor.

"Get ready to run, Claire, Allen." Lavi hissed.

Claire was about to question him when the officer suddenly changed into an Akuma. Claire screamed, activating her Innocence and wrapping her wings around herself like a protective cocoon. She had barely lowered her wings when Allen grabbed her arm and the three were off running.

Allen tugged and pulled Claire along, seeming to forget that she could fly on her own. The trio finally stopped running at the train station. Allen panted as he caught his breath, giving Claire a small smile when the little girl patted him on the back. "Lavi, how did you know that he was an Akuma?"

Lavi stared grimly around as a large group of humans slowly began approaching them from all sides. "I didn't. I just don't trust anybody. I'm not like you, Allen. I don't have a fancy eye and I can't sense an Akuma's presence like Claire can. They all look like normal people to me. For most of us Exorcist, anyone could be an agent of the Earl."

"Lavi…guys, look out!" Claire unfurled her wings and flew up into the air, barely avoiding being hit by two giant balls of metal. She looked frantically around for Lavi and Allen, trying desperately to see them through the ring of Akuma tightening around her. She glared at all of them. "Get out of my way!" Claire pulled her wings back, standing on the tips of her toes as she did so. Just before releasing the volley of arrows, she began spinning around, sending razor sharp feathers in all directions.

The battle stretched on for what felt like forever for Claire. Finally, all the Akuma were destroyed and Claire collapsed right beside Lavi. "Is it lunch time yet?"

Lavi chuckled wearily. "Not quite." He stood up shakily, dusting himself off. "I have a sneaking suspicion we may find more of them at the hospital."

Claire's eyes widened in alarm. "Lenalee's there! Allen, it's not naptime yet! We gotta go save Lenalee!"

Allen groaned and slowly got up. He winced and frowned down at his arm that was throbbing rather painfully. He blinked as Lavi stopped in front of him, the handle of the hammer up.

"Hold on tight." Lavi's grin had once again returned. "You can follow us, right, Claire?"

Before Claire could respond, Lavi made the hammer extend all the way towards the hospital with a screaming Allen in tow. Claire grinned as she unfurled her wings. "That's so cool." She raced off after the two, laughing as they punched a hole right through the wall of the hospital. She fluttered through the opening.

"Lenalee!" She screamed happily when she saw the female Exorcist was awake. She flew over and hugged Lenalee tightly. "I was so worried about you! Are you okay?"

Lenalee smiled and hugged Claire back. "I'm fine. What about you?"

Komui cleared his throat to stop Bookman from killing Allen and Lavi for destroying the hospital. "It's time for your new mission."

* * *

Claire smiled happily as she sat in Allen's lap, eating a cookie while Allen and Lavi continued to tremble in fear from an irate Bookman. "So, what's our new mission, Komui?"

Komui gave Claire a half smile before it turned very serious. "A few days ago, one of our generals was killed."

Claire's smile immediately faded and her face became panicked.

"It wasn't Cross." Komui immediately reassured the upset girl. "It was General Kevin Yeeger, the oldest of the five generals. He was found crucified in Belgium, facing the cross. Carved into his back were the words 'god matter'."

"What's god matter?" Claire asked.

"I think it's another term for Innocence." Lenalee answered.

Komui nodded his head. "The generals are all looking for accommodators of the Innocence and each has several blocks of the Innocence with them. Counting his anti-Akuma weapon, we lost nine blocks of Innocence. Despite his terrible injuries, the general wasn't dead when we found him. He kept singing the same thing over and over until he finally died."

"_The thousand year duke is looking…he's looking for the great heart…I don't have it…who will be next?_" Claire blinked and looked around at everyone staring at her in shock. "What?"

"Claire, you just sang the same thing the general did." Komui said softly.

Claire tilted her head to the side. "Really? I don't remember singing…" She frowned as everyone continued to stare at her. "Stop it."

Allen frowned down at Claire. "So, what is the great heart?"

Komui was silent for a moment. "Of the 109 Innocence that we're searching for, there is one known as the heart. It is the source of power for all Innocence and it has the ability to destroy them all as well."

Claire shuddered, instinctively reaching around to touch her shoulder blades. The thought of her wings disappearing disturbed her. "Where is it?"

"Well…we don't know." Komui sighed, clearly aggravated. "It looks like all the other Innocence. For all we know, one of the Exorcist may already have it. We have given a similar mission to yours to a few others. You are to find a general and protect him. Your group will find General Cross."

Claire's eyes lit up. "Yay! Isn't it great, Allen? We get to see Master Cross again!"

"Yeah…great…" Allen already felt like crying.


	15. Vampire

**October is always a rather hectic month for me. There's Halloween to prepare for, midterms, registering for classes for the spring, and for some reason a plethora of babysitting jobs. I'm trying to get back on track so hopefully updates will be a bit more regular.**

**Sakura02: You know she's not going to be happy when Krorykins bites her Allen.**

**XeniaKunoichi: Yes, Claire and Lavi are going to pretty much be best friends. Claire and Kanda continue to have their…interesting relationship throughout the story.**

**Thank you: Belletiger BT, lovelyanimeangel, AcPa xox, Kuroda Chiaki, fictiongurl3553, and Ria- The Ninja of Time for reviewing!**

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"That's mean, Lavi." Claire hid her giggle behind her hand as the red head doodled on Allen's sleeping face. "He's going to be angry when he wakes up."

Lavi grinned. "I won't tell if you won't."

"Knock it off, Idiot!" Bookman shouted, kicking Lavi in the head.

"Guys, hurry!" Lenalee shouted. "The last train of the day is leaving!"

"Allen, wake up!" Claire tugged on Allen's sleeve until said boy groggily woke up. She smiled gently at him. "Were you having another nightmare about Master?"

"Something like that…" Allen frowned when he rubbed his face and saw ink on his hand. "Claire, what'd you do?"

"I didn't do it!" Claire shouted as she ran off to get on the train. "It was all Lavi!"

"Traitor!" Lavi yelled. He grabbed Allen's sleeve and the Exorcist quickly boarded the train.

"Allen, do you want me to go with you?" Claire asked when Allen excused himself to the bathroom to clean the ink off his face.

Allen gave her a reassuring smile. "No. I'll be fine. You just stay here and don't cause trouble."

Claire pouted and slouched in her seat. She didn't want Allen to leave her; not even for a moment. When he did, thoughts of what Road had said to her filled her head, swimming around and whispering dark things to her. She rubbed her eyes, tired from the past few days. She blinked as she felt an arm wrap around her.

"Go ahead and take a nap." Lavi grinned down at the little girl. "I'll wake you up when we get to the next station."

Claire nodded, subconsciously snuggling into Lavi's side before drifting off to sleep.

As soon as she fell asleep, Claire dreamt about her mother. She didn't remember much of her mother since she had left Claire when she was only three. What she did remember of her, though, was her beautiful smile. No matter how hard things had gotten for the two of them, Claire's mother had always smiled. The happy dream of her mother suddenly faded, Claire's surroundings growing dark and grim. There was a man now, a man Claire didn't recognize, yet did all at the same time. "Who are you?"

The man smiled eerily at her and held out his hand, beckoning Claire to come to him.

Claire reached out, so close to putting her hand in the man's…

"Claire, wake up!" Lenalee screamed. "Have you seen Allen?"

Claire jolted from her sleep, slamming her head into the wall beside her. She groaned, rubbing her head. "No. I've been asleep."

"He must've missed the train." Lenalee chewed on her lip nervously.

"What?" Claire asked, wide awake now. "We've gotta go back and get him! What if he gets eaten by wolves? Don't worry, Lenalee. I'll go find him. I have an Allen Radar. That's what Master always told me anyways."

Lenalee couldn't help but to giggle before her face turned serious. "You can't go by yourself. It's too dangerous."

Bookman glared over at Lavi whom was casually lounging in his seat. "This idiot can go with her."

"Me?" Lavi sat up. "Why? Allen's not some little kid that has to be babysat. I'm sure he'll be fine…" Lavi yelped as Claire grabbed his hand and yanked him to the back of the train, Lenalee and Bookman close behind them.

Claire unfurled her wings as soon as they were out in the open. "Don't worry, Lenalee, we'll find Allen." She took off, not bothering to see if Lavi was behind her. She saw him catch up to her a moment later.

"Hey, Claire, were you having a nightmare or something?" Lavi asked as he flew beside Claire on his hammer. "You were muttering in your sleep and moving around a lot."

"I…don't remember." Claire frowned, furrowing her brows in concentration. "I think I dreamed about my mama and then…there was something else…I can't remember it though."

The two flew in silence until they reached the train station. It was completely deserted. Night had fallen over the small town and no one was in sight.

"I hear a bunch of people that way." Claire said, leading the way towards the main area of the town.

"Wow, you've got super hearing too?" Lavi asked as he walked beside Claire. "That's pretty amazing."

Claire's cheeks tinted pink at the compliment and she grinned sheepishly up at Lavi. "Thank you." She perked up suddenly and bolted away from Lavi to a well lit pub. "Allen!" She screamed as she broke through the door and knocked the poor tied up Allen to the ground. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Why are you tied up?"

"Wow, you really do have an Allen Radar." Lavi grinned as he came over.

"Claire, you should run while you still can." Allen whispered to the overly excited child, looking nervously at the townspeople that were now eyeing Lavi and Claire with interest.

"What do you…" Claire squealed as someone grabbed her from behind. Instinctively, she activated her Innocence and flew up so she was hovering just beneath the ceiling. She glared down at the awestruck villager that had grabbed her, her wings pulled back and ready to attack. She watched warily as they tied Lavi to a chair right beside Allen. She would've attacked if not for Allen shooting her a meaningful look. "What do you guys want?"

The leader of the town cleared his throat, finally tearing his gaze from the floating Claire. "Well, you see, as I was saying to the white haired priest, little angel, our town is being terrorized by a vampire. His name is Count Krory and he lives in the castle just beyond the town."

"A vampire?" Claire squealed, her face going pale. "What do you expect us to do about it?"

The leader of the town shifted nervously. "Well, Miss Angel, right before the count began his reign of terror, another traveler came to this village. He said he was a priest and asked for directions to Count Krory's castle. We tried to dissuade him but he simply laughed at us and went on to the castle."

By this point, Claire had gently landed on the ground, right beside Allen. Her hands clenched tightly to Allen's pants as she glared at the villagers that seemed to debate on whether or not to tie her up. "What happened to the traveler? Did he get eaten?"

The mayor shook his head. "No. Three days passed before he returned. He told me that if anything strange happened to Count Krory to tell someone wearing a uniform like him. He said they would help us and that they would eventually arrive on the train. Not long after that, Count Krory began attacking us. He's killed nine villagers so far. We were going to take matters into our own hands tonight, but then all of you showed up!"

Claire blinked as the villagers all suddenly fell to the knees and bowed deeply to the three Exorcists. "Allen, you don't think that traveler could be…"

"Um, what did this traveler look like?" Allen asked nervously.

The mayor grinned proudly as he quickly drew a picture and held it up. "He looked just like this!"

"It's Master Cross, Allen!" Claire shouted excitedly, her eyes lit up with joy. "Master Cross came through here! We've got to help these people, Allen. Master Cross said so."

Allen sighed as the villagers untied him and Lavi. He immediately had an armful of Claire as the villagers led them towards the castle. "Are you okay, Claire? Maybe you should go catch up with the train and go with Lenalee and Bookman."

"No way." Claire puffed her cheeks out angrily. "I've got to protect you from the evil vampire!"

"How you can protect Allen when your wings are trembling so badly?" Lavi teased, noting how Claire's wings were twitching nervously.

Claire glared at him and stuck her tongue out indignantly. "You should talk. You keep messing with your hammer."

Lavi flushed and glared over at Allen whom was now laughing. "You have no right to talk, Allen. Your glove is already off. Speaking of Lenalee and the old man, shouldn't we inform them about what's going on?" Lavi fished around in his pack before finding a golem. "Oi, Lenalee, can you hear me?"

_"Lavi, did you and Claire find Allen?"_ Lenalee's voice asked through the golem.

Lavi quickly explained everything to Lenalee. "We're going to see what's going on with this Count Krory. You and the old man keep looking for General Cross."

_"Please be careful. I read somewhere that if you get bit by a vampire, you'll be turned into one." _

Claire's eyes widened. "Really? I don't wanna get turned into a vampire!" She wailed.

"Don't worry, Claire." Allen smiled reassuringly at the little girl in his arms. "I'll protect you. I won't let anything happen to you." The group finally came to a halt in front of a large gated wall.

"Do we have to go?" Claire whispered to Allen.

Allen glanced over his shoulder and was met with the menacing glares of the villagers. "I don't think we've got much choice, Claire." Hesitantly, Allen and Lavi pushed the gates open.

Claire stared around in awe at the strange monstrous statues that were scattered throughout the entrance gardens. She was now walking alongside Allen, holding his normal hand tightly. She stiffened suddenly and pulled her wings back while Lavi and Allen immediately stood back to back. "Allen…"

"I know." Allen whispered. "There's something coming this way."

Claire's eyes widened as something flew past them, a strange sweet smell lingering in the air. "What was that?"

"He's got Franz!" Someone screamed from the back of the group.

Allen, Lavi, and Claire all pushed their way through the group to see. Claire couldn't help but to shriek at the sight of someone who could be none other than Count Krory, biting into Franz's throat. "A vampire! He's really a vampire!" Claire wailed.

"Claire, go with the villagers and get out of here." Allen said as the villagers began running away. He held his hand up and activated his Innocence.

"Yeah, leave the fighting to us big kids." Lavi said, pulling his hammer out.

"No way." Claire hissed, pulling her wings back tightly. "I've got to make sure you guys don't get turned into vampires. If you do, Lenalee won't ever speak to any of us again."

Allen chuckled. "All right then. Shall we defeat this vampire then?" He shot the ground with his arm turned cannon.

Count Krory leapt back, the villager still clenched tightly in his mouth. He looked up as Claire flew at him and sent a spray of razor sharp feathers his way. He hopped back on top of a pillar, growling down at the small girl. He looked up just as Lavi brought his giant hammer down to crush him.

"You did it, Lavi!" Claire cheered.

Lavi blinked as he felt his hammer swaying. "Uh…I don't think so."

Count Krory had caught the hammer with his teeth. He threw the hammer behind him with ease, as though it weighed no more than a leaf. He frowned as he heard a rumble come from the ground before Allen's arm shot up and caught him.

"We've got you now, Vampire." Allen said, bringing a razor sharp claw up to the Count's face. "Now, hold still."

"Are you okay, Lavi?" Claire asked as she knelt beside the shocked Exorcist. "You got your butt whooped pretty good."

"Shut up." Lavi said as he playfully shoved the little girl.

Count Krory looked at the three before laughing insanely. "How dare you insolent whelps waste my time. You seem to be monsters as well, though."

Allen smirked. "We're Exorcist, not monsters."

The Count seemed unfazed by all of this. "I'm sorry, but I'm a very busy man. Shall we get to work?" He promptly clamped down on Allen's claw that was pointed at him.

"Allen!" Claire screamed in horror. She blinked as Count Krory suddenly began screaming about a bitter taste before running off with the dead villager. "Allen, are you okay?" She rushed over to Allen's side as he deactivated his Innocence. She grabbed his hand and wailed when she saw the bite mark on Allen's finger. "You're gonna turn into a vampire now! I don't wanna drive a stake through your heart!"

"Lenalee is going to kill us." Lavi muttered.


	16. Fighting the Vampire

**Ahhh! I've been gone forever! Finals are over now and it's Christmas Break so hopefully updates will be more frequent now! Also, this January, there will be two new baby stories! Look for them!**

**Sakura02: That's terrifying…now I can't hear that song without picturing him snarling…or Kanda…**

**Thank you: AcPa xox, Ria- the Ninja of Time, XeniaKunoichi, tsubasakitten, and Too lazy to log in for reviewing :)**

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"Allen, do we have to go in there?" Claire asked nervously as she, Lavi, and Allen walked closer and closer to the eerie castle. She clutched Allen's hand, glancing around as though she expected Count Krory to leapt out at any moment and attack.

"Yeah." Lavi agreed as they cautiously opened the huge doors. "Please tell me again why we're playing Vampire Hunters again?"

Allen squeezed Claire's reassuringly. "Don't you want to know, Claire? Why did Master Cross come here and why he left us a message to deal with all this?"

Claire stayed close to Allen's side, shrugging. "I guess so." She squeaked as Lavi suddenly collapsed. "Lavi, what's wrong?" Her eyes widened as Allen slapped his gloved hand over her mouth and nose. She had caught the whiff of an oddly sweet, familiar smell before Allen had covered her nose. She screamed as she was suddenly lifted up into the air by almost invisible threads. Allen was right beside her, along with an unconscious Lavi.

Allen blinked as he was pulled up face to…well, he was staring at a rather large, rather hungry looking flower. "Um…"

"Allen, the flowers are gonna eat us!" Claire screamed, noticing the other flowers that emerged from seemingly nowhere. "I don't wanna get eaten by the flowers!" In vain she activated her Innocence, only to find her wings were trapped by the sticky strands and she was unable to use them to attack. She blinked as the flower that was lunging towards her suddenly exploded. "Thank you, Allen."

Allen nodded to her, pointing his cannon arm at even more of the flowers to protect not only himself, but Claire and Lavi as well. "Lavi, wake up!"

"Lavi wake up, please!" Claire shouted as Allen prevented yet another flower from eating her.

"Hey, you humans!" A strangely beautiful woman stood at the top of a hole created by Allen shooting the flowers. "Why are you attacking Lord Arystar's precious flowers?"

Claire rolled her eyes as Lavi suddenly woke up and stared lustfully at the woman. "Allen, Lavi's acting like Master Cross."

Allen glared at Lavi, turning his arm from a cannon back to it's initial release form, harshly smacking Lavi on the head. "This is no time to be finding love! Especially not with that thing!"

The woman seemed rather irritated at being called 'that'. "I'm Eliade, Count Krory's assistant. What are you doing here?"

"Well, you see, Ms. Eliade," Claire began, deciding it might be best to be polite to the lady that may be able to command the killer flowers to eat them. "we're looking for the villager that Mr. Count Vampire took."

Eliade turned her attention to Claire and her eyes widened a fraction. She quickly regained her composure and shrugged nonchalantly. "You mean this guy?" She held a dead corpse up by its leg. "I was just going to bury it but if you want it so bad," She grinned as she threw the dead body to carnivorous flowers. "he's all yours."

Claire's eyes widened as the flowers greedily devoured the dead body before their bodies suddenly broke out in dark purple stars. "That's…" She cried out as all the flowers suddenly broke out with the dark purple stars before they all exploded.

"Claire!" Allen shouted, reaching out to the little girl.

Claire could feel herself falling. As she fell, she felt the sticky threads disappear. Not a moment too soon, she completely unfurled her wings, catching the wind and flying back up to where Allen and Lavi were resting. "Are you two okay?"

"I think I'm going to be sick." Lavi groaned before puking everywhere.

"That's so gross!" Claire crinkled her nose in distaste.

"Well, excused me." Lavi gasped out.

Allen rolled his eyes. He blinked as he noticed something interesting just beyond the wall. "Guys, is that what I think it is?"

Claire glided down before deactivating her wings. She walked around the crude crosses. "It looks like a cemetery."

"Not a very nice one." Lavi muttered, hopping down off the wall with Allen close behind him.

Allen smiled as Claire immediately latched onto his arm. He looked around, a frown marring his face. "I think this may be where they bury the villagers the Count kills."

Lavi looked around. "You think so?"

"It would make sense." Claire whispered. "That Eliade woman said she was going to bury that villager." Lightly, she touched one of the crosses and gasped as it immediately crumbled.

"Claire!" Lavi shrieked.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Claire cried, bowing low to the ground over and over. "I barely touched it, honest!"

Allen frowned before kneeling beside Claire and brushing the top layer of dirt away, revealing dark purple stars. "Why is the blood virus of an Akuma here?"

Claire went over to another of the graves and toed the ground with her foot. "It's over here too! Do you think Akuma are buried here?"

Lavi leaned against his hammer. "Now that I think about it, didn't the virus appear on the flowers after they ate that villager?"

"Was he an Akuma?" Claire asked incredulously.

Allen straightened up. "There's only one way to find out. We'll have to dig up the bodies." He sighed as Claire's face went pale. "It's going to be okay, Claire."

"I don't want the angry ghosts to haunt me!" She wailed.

"Be quiet and start digging, Claire Bear." Lavi said, bringing a shovel and two wooden boards over.

Claire felt like crying as she helped dig up the ground with one of the wooden planks. "Lord, please forgive me." She whimpered out. She blinked as the wooden plank hit something solid.

The three looked at each other nervously as they fully unearthed the coffin. Immediately, the three threw their hands out. "Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

Claire and Lavi cheered as they both threw rock while Allen threw scissors. "Sorry, Allen." Claire grinned.

The three crowded around as Allen opened the coffin. Claire's eyes widened as the body inside was revealed. "That's an Akuma!"

Lavi wrinkled his nose. "Yeah. Look at the skin falling off."

They unearthed all the other bodies and found the same case for all the others. Claire frowned as she sat on the ground. "What does this mean? Has the Count only been killing Akuma?"

Allen nodded slowly. "We aren't after a vampire. The Count is…"

"Lavi, behind you!" Claire shouted as Krory appeared behind the unsuspecting red head.

Krory punched Lavi away as though he were made of mere paper. "You fools have incurred my wrath!"

"Wait, please!" Claire shouted, trying desperately to calm Krory down as he began fighting Allen. "We don't want to hurt you!"

"Claire, go check on Lavi and stay clear of here!" Allen shouted as he continued fighting Krory.

Claire hesitated for a moment before rushing over to Lavi. "Lavi, are you okay? Please don't be dead."

"Stop screaming in my ear." Lavi groaned. "I'm fine. But, it looks like Allen could use some help now."

Claire sighed as she saw Krory fling Allen through a wall and into the castle. "I'll go help Allen. Don't get yourself killed, okay?"

Lavi grinned as he shakily sat up. "Me? Die? Please. I'm too awesome to die."

Claire rolled her eyes before quickly flying over to where Allen had landed. "Are you okay, Allen?"

Allen shakily stood up, holding his bleeding head. "I've been better." He yelped as the hand he was using to hold himself up against the wall opened a secret door, causing the wall to open into a secret room.

Claire rolled her eyes again as Allen rolled into the room. "You're so clumsy, Allen." She blinked as she heard someone crying. "What's that?"

Both Allen and Claire jumped as the wall slammed shut behind them. Claire frowned as the crying suddenly stopped. "Allen, what just…"

Allen cried out as he was roughly slammed into one of the bookcases lining the wall. "Claire, run!"

"Oh no." Eliade smirked, grabbing Claire with her free hand. She lifted Claire off the ground by the young girl's throat. "The Millennium Earl will be so pleased if I give you to him. As for you, boy. I've always wanted to taste the blood of an Exorcist."

Claire's eyes widened as she saw Eliade's eyes change. _She…She's an Akuma…_


	17. A New Exorcist

**Sakura02: Lol, don't worry, the tally board will appear shortly as well as Daddy :)**

**Xenia Kunoichi: See, I could never tell if she actually defected from him or what. If she did, maybe she thinks that by giving Claire to him, the Millennium Earl will leave her and Krory alone. **

**Thanks: HikariNoTenshi-San, Angel Fantasy, Anime girl122, howlingwindofthestorm, Silver Wings of Eternal Light, and fictiongurl3553 for your reviews!**

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Claire was unconscious, she knew that much. She could tell because her mother was smiling down at her. Her mother's long blonde hair hung over her shoulders and her bright green eyes shone with such love and happiness as she held her hand out to Claire. Claire had always thought her mother was the most beautiful woman in the whole world. Her mother always had a bright smile on her face, except at night.

Claire was now peering around a corner of one of the many hotel rooms she and her mother had stayed in. They had never had a home of their own. Her mother always told her they had to keep moving, that they couldn't let Claire's father or any of his family find them. Claire remembered how she'd wake up every night and peer around the corner like she was doing now. Her mother would always be sitting on the couch, looking at a picture in her locket that she never let Claire see, and crying.

Somehow, Claire knew it was a picture of her father. She'd never met him, nor seen him. Her mother didn't say much about him except to say that he and his family were very dangerous and that if they ever found them, they'd take Claire away. Claire had never wanted to be taken away from her mother, so she never protested being on the run all the time, never protested at not having any friends, never protested at feeling so alone and scared all the time.

Another memory came back to Claire, one she hadn't thought of in a long time. They had been in yet another tiny town, staying at the local inn. That night, Claire had heard her mother shouting at someone. She had climbed out of bed to see what was going on.

There had been a man in the room. Claire couldn't remember anything about him other than he was really tall. He had been wrapped in a tight cloak and hadn't even removed the hood. He was speaking softly and urgently to Claire's mother while her mother shouted at him to leave and get away from her.

"Mommy, who's that?" Claire heard herself ask.

Her mother had whipped around, her normally beautiful hair was in complete disarray and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "Claire," Her voice was hoarse from shouting. "go back to your room right now. Don't go near her!" She screamed as the man approached Claire.

Claire remembered being afraid. She'd backed herself up against the wall as the man knelt in front of her. His face was still shadowed by his hood and she couldn't see any of his features. She had flinched when his hand came up and touched her cheek. She remembered how oddly warm and comforting his hand had been. Then, the man had leaned forward and kissed her forehead before standing and leaving without a word.

Two weeks later, Claire's mother left her in the alley and disappeared. If it hadn't been for Allen finding her and taking her away, Claire would've died in that alleyway, waiting for her mother.

Allen…Claire struggled to remember what had been happening. They'd been fighting…fighting Arystar Krory! He wasn't a vampire, but an Exorcist, like them. Her and Allen had gone through a secret door and then…

Claire gasped awake and abruptly sat up. "Allen? Allen, where are you?" All around her was rubble. She looked across from where she had been laying and gasped. The woman, Eliade, was holding Arystar in her arms. What had caused Claire to gasp, however, was the what looked like a bound body coming out of Eliade's shoulder. "What's that?"

"Claire!" Allen was only a few feet away. A look of relief washed across his face at the sight of Claire conscious and okay.

"Allen, how come I can see the soul?" Claire asked as she ran over to Allen and latched onto him.

Lavi's face was pale. "That's…horrible. Is that what you see all the time, Allen?"

Allen said nothing. He covered his eye with one hand and tightened his other arm around Claire. "Krory, that lady is an Akuma!" Claire shouted. "She the enemy!"

"Claire, are you okay?" Allen asked. "You're shaking."

Claire looked up at Allen and put on her best smile. "I'm okay. Just…weird dreams…" Her eyes widened as she watched Eliade change from a beautiful woman into a grotesque Akuma. "Allen…"

The floor beneath the three Exorcist rumbled before even more of the flowers broke through the floor and grabbed the three Exorcist. Claire screamed as one of the flowers dangled her above it's gaping mouth. "I don't wanna get eaten! Allen, help me!"

The sound of a fight could be heard all around them. Lavi was about to say something when one of the flowers chomped down on him. "Lavi's gonna die!" Claire wailed.

"Lavi, calm down and do as I say!" Allen shouted at the hysterically screaming Lavi. "My master once had me and Claire take care of a plant like this. Remember, Claire?"

Now that she thought about it, Claire did indeed remember taking care of such a plant shortly after Allen and Cross had taken her in. The flower had always liked to chew on Allen's head. "Oh yeah! They never bite anyone that has affection for them! Lavi, tell the flower that you love it and it'll spit you out!"

"Are you serious?" Lavi shouted through the flower. He sighed and took a deep breath. "I love you!"

"Yay! Lavi's alive!" Claire cheered as the flower spat Lavi out. The three continued shouting at the flowers how much they loved them.

_Little Girl, can you hear me?_

Claire looked around. It was Eliade's voice, but it was in Claire's head and sounded very weak.

_Do you know what makes all women beautiful and even a plain woman lovely?_

"No." Claire answered, ignoring the curious stares Allen and Lavi gave her.

Eliade weakly chuckled. _It's love. It's something women like us can never have. You may not be an Akuma like me, but you are cursed just the same. Don't ever fall in love. If you do, you won't be able to kill him, and that man…he'll surely destroy you._

Silence suddenly rang through Claire's mind. She felt disconcerted for a moment at having an Akuma speak to her through her mind. It had been a strange feeling, one she never wanted to feel again. On top of that, Eliade's words troubled her. She was human, wasn't she? Sure, supposedly her father was a Noah, but still…

She blinked as rain suddenly began falling on her face. She looked up to see what looked like rain falling from the ceiling. "Can it rain inside?"

Allen shook his head, just as dumbfounded as she was. After a few moments, the vines released the three and they immediately went off in search of Krory. They found him standing forlornly on top of one of the flowers. The three climbed up to stand beside him.

"Krory?" Claire asked softly, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"

"Stupid flowers." Krory hissed. "Ugly flowers! Disgusting flowers! Cursed flowers!"

Claire and the others screamed as the flower beneath them opened its mouth and swallowed their lower halves. "We're gonna get eaten! Krory, stop it! Stop hurting the flowers feelings!"

"Be quiet!" Krory shouted as Allen and Lavi began shouting at him as well. "I destroyed Eliade…the woman I loved…I have no reason to live anymore!"

Claire reached out and placed her hand on Krory's arm. "Krory…" Her eyes widened as she noticed his other arm was almost nonexistent. "You're hurt!"

Krory shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Once I drink the blood of another Akuma, it will heal…" He laughed bitterly. "What kind of monster am I? I killed the one I loved. I want to die." He sobbed out.

Claire was about to say something, but Allen beat her to it. "If it hurts so badly, then become an Exorcist. Exorcist destroy Akuma just as you destroyed Eliade. If you keep killing Akuma, then Eliade's death won't have been in vain. It'll be part of a greater purpose. Plus, you'll be saving a lot of people. That could be your new reason to live."

Claire waited tensely as Krory continued crying before he nodded his head. The four quickly placated the flower that was currently trying to devour them before moving over to the stairwell to talk. Claire still hadn't told the others about Eliade speaking to her through her mind and quite honestly, she didn't know if she ever would. That wasn't something that would happen to a normal human. Besides, she didn't want to upset Allen.

Allen pulled his sad drawing of General Cross out of his pocket and showed it to Krory. "Have you seen this man?"

Krory squinted at the picture for a moment before nodding his head. "He said he was my grandfather's friend and that he had come to pay his respects. He said he wished to return something that had belonged to my grandfather."

Claire tilted her head to the side. "What was it?"

"A baby man-eater flower." Krory answered.

When Claire saw how pale Allen had gotten, she giggled. "I bet it was Roseanne. She didn't like Allen very much and always chomped on his head. So, all Master Cross did was give you Roseanne back?"

Krory nodded. "Yes, but there was something strange about the flower. It suddenly bit me one day and then withered and died before my eyes. It was very painful. I thought I was going to die. Then, all my teeth fell out and my fangs grew in. Now that I think about it, that flower could be what you call Innocence. Not long after that I started attacking Akuma and…" his voice trailed off and the others knew he was thinking of Eliade.

"We're looking for Master Cross." Claire said. "Will you help us find him, Krory?"

"He said he was heading to the Far East and asked that I lend him money since he was grandfather's friend…" He missed the look that Claire and Allen exchanged. He stood up and smiled nervously at the group. Would you wait for me outside the castle? There are some things I need to get."

Claire yawned and Allen had to eventually pick her up as the three made their way outside. Claire groaned and buried her face in Allen's neck as the sun began peaking over the mountains. "Is it morning already?"

Lavi groaned as he stretched. "What a night…"

"At least we have a lead on my master now." Allen smiled as he adjusted Claire in his arms. "With the money he borrowed, he could easily get to China…"

Claire looked up and saw the sad look on Allen's face. She hugged him. "It's okay, Allen. You saved him from himself."

Lavi nodded. "The logic may have been a bit thin but you gave Krorykins a new reason to live. He'll come to terms with it eventually."

Suddenly, the castle behind them exploded. Claire was wide awake now as she wriggled out of Allen's arms. "Krory!"

Through the flames, Krory appeared, a bright smile on his face. "Oh my, did you all think I had blown myself up?" He blinked as Claire rushed over and hugged him. He looked up at Allen and Lavi with a questioning look.

Allen smiled. "She worries a lot. You'll get used to it eventually."

Krory smiled down at Claire and placed a hand on her head. "I'm okay."

Claire nodded. She looked up at Krory. "She really loved you, you know." She grabbed Krory's hand and led him over to the other two before he could say anything. "Let's go find Master Cross!"


	18. Poker Game

**Sorry for the delay in updates. School is kind of crazy right now.**

**Sakura02: Special kid! :)**

**Sakura Ichigo Morihiko: Actually, I'm going by the manga. I've never even watched the anime. I read both the volumes released in America and the current chapters online. Even on the translations I read online, Lenalee is Lenalee, Lavi is Lavi, and Krory is Krory. **

**Xenia Kunoichi: Yes, the flowers were annoying. Personally, I would've just gotten some weed killer and gone to town. **

**Thanks: HikariNoTenshi-San, fictiongurl3553, and one who walks the path of fire for reviewing!**

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"Cheer up, Krory." Claire patted Krory's arm to try and placate the sobbing Exorcist. "You don't need those mean villagers for friends. You've got us now."

"Why don't you go explore the train?" Allen suggested. "You've never been on one before, right?"

Krory nodded, wiping his tears away. "Right. I think I shall go do that."

"Poor Krory." Claire sighed as soon as he had left. "It must be hard to lose Eliade and his home all in one night."

Claire, Lavi, and Allen spent the next three hours talking and watching the scenery fly by. When Krory still hadn't returned, they began to grow worried. They decided to go in search of their new friend. "I hope he didn't get lost." Claire muttered.

Lavi rolled his eyes. "Please. You'd have to be a moron to get lost on this little of a train."

Before Claire could say anything, they came to one of the last passenger cars on the train. Claire blinked, trying to process the sight before her. "Allen, why is Krory only wearing his underwear?"

Three men were sitting in front of the nearly naked Krory, cards in their hands. A small boy around Claire's age was sitting behind a man with swirly glasses. The boy looked at Claire curiously, tilting his head slightly to the side. Claire mimicked him, ignoring the way the man with the glasses stared curiously at her. Once Krory had explained that the men had invited him to play poker, Claire glared at the three men. "Give Krory back his clothes right now, you big bullies."

The man with the glasses smirked at Claire. "No can do, little missy. We won these fair and square. Now, you children should leave now." He blinked as Allen suddenly shoved his Exorcist jacket in the man's face.

Allen gave his most charming smile to the man. "All the accessories on this jacket are silver. Could I wager this against Krory's belongings?"

"Allen, are you serious?" Lavi protested. He blinked as Claire began giggling. "Why are you laughing? The Order is going to kill us if Allen loses his jacket!"

Claire grinned as she sat beside Allen. She glanced over her shoulder at Lavi, the smile never leaving her face. "Allen doesn't lose when it comes to cards. Hey, Allen, I want to play too."

"No." Allen lightly whapped Claire on the nose with the cards he had just been dealt. "We don't want this to be over too quickly, Claire. It'd be boring if we both beat them."

Claire pouted. "Fine." She blinked as the little boy was suddenly sitting much closer and staring at her. "Hi?"

While the three men played against Allen, the boy simply stared at Claire. He finally held a hand out to her. "I'm Eeze. What's your name?"

Claire looked at his hand suspiciously for a moment. Finally she shook his hand. "I'm Claire." She frowned as the boy reached out and touched her hair. She immediately scooted closer to Allen, whose pile of clothing was growing while the men across from him were slowly losing more and more clothes. "Stop that."

"You're hair is really soft." The boy said quietly. "It looks like gold, like Tyki's necklace."

Claire blinked and looked over at the three now naked (save for their underwear) men. The man with the glasses whom she now assumed to be Tyki indeed had a gold necklace around his neck. What surprised her was that it wasn't just a necklace, but a locket that was almost identical to the one her mother had always worn.

The man blinked as Claire was suddenly sitting on the suitcase they had been using as a card table and staring intently at him. "May I help you, little missy?"

"Where'd you get that?" Claire asked, pointing to his necklace.

The man cocked his head to the side before looking down at his locket. "Who knows. I probably won it in a card game."

"Open it." Claire demanded.

"Claire!" Allen protested. "You're being very rude."

The man waved his hand dismissively and opened the locket to reveal…nothing. The locket was empty. He smiled when he noticed the disappointed look on Claire's face. "Did you lose a locket like this?"

"No." Claire pouted as she went back to sit by Allen. "My mother had one just like it. I thought it might be hers…" She blinked as the man reached across and patted her head. She didn't get a chance to say anything as the train pulled into the Kirilenko Mine Station and the three men and Eeze got off the train.

Allen went over to the window and held out the suitcases containing the three men's clothing out to them. "I got my friend's belongings back so you can have these. It's rather cold to be walking around naked."

The man with the glasses scoffed. "We haven't sunk so low as to take charity." His eyes widened as Allen began pulling the suitcases back inside. "Then again…" He and the other two men quickly reached out and yanked the suitcases away from Allen.

Claire giggled as the three men quickly dressed. "You guys are silly."

Allen smiled as well. He blinked as Eeze suddenly shoved something into Allen's face. He couldn't see what the object was, only that it appeared to be a necklace as the cord was the only thing sticking out of Eeze's hand.

The man with the glasses began panicking and digging through his pockets for something to give Allen. As the train pulled away from the station, he threw the deck of cards they had used to play with to Allen. "It's the least I can do! Be a good girl, little missy!"

Claire smiled and waved at the man as the train pulled into a tunnel and the three men and Eeze disappeared from sight. She placed her hand on her head where the man had patted it and frowned.

"Is everything okay, Claire?" Allen asked, noticing the troubled look on Claire's face.

"I think so…" Claire mumbled. There was something nagging at the back of her mind, something that she felt she should remember. Her thoughts didn't go much further as her stomach growled loudly. "I'm hungry…" She began digging through her pockets to see if she had any snacks hidden in them. She blinked as her hand connected with something cold and metal.

"Claire, did you steal that!" Allen protested when he saw what was in Claire's hand.

Claire quickly shook her head. "No! He must've slipped it in my pocket when they were leaving. I didn't take it, honest, Allen." Claire stared down at the golden locket in her hand. She opened the locket and blinked as a tiny folded piece of paper fell out.

Lavi, Krory, and Allen crowded around as Claire unfolded the note.

_A pretty necklace for a pretty little angel._

Claire frowned thoughtfully down at the paper and then looked back at the locket. Finally, she held it up to Allen. "Can I wear it, Allen?"

Allen smiled and knelt down to help Claire put the locket on. "That was very nice of him. If we ever see them again, you'll have to properly thank him, Claire."

Claire nodded. "But, we'll never see them again, will we, Allen."

"I suppose not." Allen said as he straightened up. "Let's get back to our compartment now."


	19. Searching For Cross

**Sakura Ichigo Morihiko: Thanks**

**Sakura02: Well, I'm sure she didn't give it to him willingly :P**

**rockbabyval: Thank you**

**HikariNoTenshi-san: Yes, something dramatic will be happening soon. And everyone loves Claire!...well…except for maybe Kanda**

**howlingwindofthestorm: Lol, did you mean Allen? **

**Heartbringer: Thank you :)**

**

* * *

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"Give back Timcanpy!" Claire squealed, flying as fast as she could after the fat cat with poor Timcanpy caught in its mouth. "Hold on Timcanpy! I'll save you!" She pulled herself to a halt as Lenalee suddenly appeared in front of her and the cat, catching the startled cat with ease.

Lenalee smiled at Claire as she held the cat in her arms. She couldn't help giggling as Claire attempted in vain to yank Timcanpy out of the cat's mouth. "Let's head back to Allen and the others. Maybe Allen can get the cat to let Timcanpy go." She frowned at the sullen look that suddenly crossed Claire's face. "What's wrong, Claire?"

Claire blinked and quickly plastered a smile onto her face. "Oh, no, it's nothing. I was just thinking is all." She fidgeted nervously with the locket that the man Tyki had given her on the train. "Let's go check on Allen and Lavi."

Lenalee sighed as Claire took off into the air, before following after her. She quickly caught up to the little girl, the cat clinging tightly to her back. "Claire, if there's something wrong, you know you can talk to me, Allen, and…well, maybe not Lavi. But, Allen and I are here for you."

"I'm okay, Lenalee." Claire's smile seemed more genuine this time. She laughed at the terrified look on the cat's face. "Serves you right for trying to eat Timcanpy. Oh, it looks like Allen and Lavi fought some Akuma."

While Lenalee slammed into the ground, Claire flitted lightly down, deactivating her Innocence as soon as her feet touched the ground. "Timcanpy!" She squealed in delight as the terrified cat spit the poor golem out. She giggled and hugged Timcanpy close to her. "I was so worried about you!"

"Timcanpy, you have to be more careful." Allen scolded. He gasped as Timcanpy responded by chomping down on his finger.

"Timcanpy is going through a rebellious phase." Claire grinned as Timcanpy fluttered out of her arms and nestled onto Allen's head in apology.

Krory sighed. "How much longer will it take to find General Cross? We've been in China for nearly four days and even with Timcanpy, there's no sign of him. You don't suppose he's been killed, do you?"

"Master Cross won't die that easily!" Claire protested.

Allen nodded in agreement. "It'll take more than death to kill that man."

"That makes no sense, Allen." Lavi mumbled.

"Claire, do you or Allen have any idea what kind of mission would bring General Cross this far east?" Lenalee asked. She blinked as she noticed how badly Allen's hand was trembling.

Before Allen could protest, Lenalee grabbed his hand and yanked the sleeve of his jacket up. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at seeing that Allen's arm seemed to be falling apart. "Allen, what's wrong with your arm?" Claire asked, running over and wrapping her arms around Allen's waist. "It's crumbling!" She sniffled into his jacket.

"Don't worry, it's fine." Allen reassured, patting Claire on the head. "I think my arm is just tired from all the fighting."

"This is what I was worried about." Lenalee whispered. "Allen, your arm is too fragile."

Allen blinked as Lenalee lowered her head and Claire continued to cry into his jacket. "Hey…Lenalee…Claire…"

"You made them cry." Lavi said, glaring accusingly at Allen.

"You made both of them cry." Bookman echoed.

"For shame, Allen." Krory piped up.

"Shut up!" Allen yelped at the three. "Lenalee, I'm okay, really. It'll heal in no time. Claire, stop crying. It's okay." He picked Claire up and allowed the little girl to wrap her arms around his neck. "My arm is okay. I'm okay."

"I don't want you to disappear." Claire whispered. "I don't want you to disappear like my mommy and Master Cross."

"I'm not going to disappear, Claire." Allen sighed out. "I promise you, I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you." After a few more minutes, Claire had calmed down enough for the group to resume their search. She refused to release her grip on Allen and for a part of their search, she had a hold of Lenalee's hand over Allen's shoulder. Once Lenalee had reassured Claire that she was all right, Claire released Lenalee from her grasp and went off with Allen to question some vendors while the others split up throughout the market to question people.

While they were taking a break and buying meat buns from a vendor, Allen showed the sketch of Cross to the man. The man grinned and began speaking in fast Chinese. "Lenalee!" Claire shouted, her arms full of meat buns. "I think this guy knows something about Master Cross!"

* * *

"Wow, this place is huge!" Claire gasped in awe as they stood outside the brothel the meat bun man had said he'd last seen Cross at. "So, Master Cross is the Mistress of the Brothel's lover? What's a lover?"

Allen sighed as he felt a headache coming on. "I'll tell you when you're older, Claire. Suffice to say all the women Master Cross always hangs out with are his lovers."

"Oh." Claire said thoughtfully before grinning. "I like his lovers then. They always gave me candy." She squealed as Lavi picked her up and spun around with her. "Put me down, Lavi!"

"But, we've finally found General Cross, Claire Bear!" Lavi cried with joy as he began snuggling the little girl.

"It's been quite a trek." Krory agreed.

Lenalee smiled as Lavi finally put Claire down and the little girl ran over to her to use her as a shield. "I didn't think we'd ever find him."

Allen sighed. "I was kind of hoping we wouldn't." He mumbled as he and Lavi were the first to head towards the door. He blinked as there was suddenly a very tall, very muscular, very intimidating looking woman standing in front of him and Lavi, speaking in a rather unwelcoming tone in Chinese. "I don't know what you just said, but whatever we did, I'm sorry!" Allen managed to squeak out before the woman hoisted him and then Lavi into the air.

"Put Allen and Lavi down, you big bully!" Claire shouted, punching the woman in her leg.

"We're not customers!" Lenalee shouted at the woman in Chinese.

Claire blinked as the woman whispered something to Allen and then put him and Lavi down before going off around the corner. "What'd she say, Allen?"

"She said we need to go around back to reach the mistress." Allen answered, doing his best to stop trembling from his scare. He took Claire's hand and the group followed quickly after the woman. "They're supporters of the Black Order evidently."

Claire blinked against the bright candlelight as the woman led them into a room at the back of the building. Once her eyes had adjusted to the bright light, she was surprised to see a rather beautiful woman sitting before them. "She's pretty." Claire whispered.

The rest of the group seemed to agree as they all stood in awe of the woman.

The woman giggled. "Welcome, my dear Exorcist. I am Anita, Mistress of this establishment. I'm pleased to meet all of you." Her smile remained in place as she continued speaking. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but General Cross is no longer here."

"What?" The group shouted in unison.

"He left eight days ago and was lost at sea." The smile was gone from Anita's face.

"What's that mean?" Claire asked, not liking how deathly silent everyone had fallen. She tugged on Allen's hand. "Hey, Allen, what's that mean? If Master Cross is lost, we need to go find him. He could be hurt."

Anita smiled sadly at her. "You must be Claire. General Cross talked a great deal about you. You're much cuter in person. My dear girl, if one is lost at sea, it means they have died at sea."

"Claire!" Lenalee knelt down beside the little girl as Claire suddenly lost all feeling in her legs and sat down, never letting go of Allen's hand.

"The ship carrying General Cross sank into the sea with all hands." Anita said softly.

"Do you have proof of this?" Bookman asked, speaking up for the first time.

Anita nodded gravely. "Another ship received their distress signal and went to their aid. No trace of the ship or anyone aboard was found. All there was to find was a poisoned sea full of hideous carcasses."

"Liar!" Claire shouted. She ignored Krory, Lenalee, and Lavi all trying to hush her. "Master Cross isn't dead! He wouldn't die such a stupid death!" She blinked as Allen tugged her into a standing position in order to hold her at his side.

"Where was our master going?" Allen asked. "Our master wouldn't drown so easily."

Anita looked in surprise between Allen's determined face and Claire's upset one. She gave a shaky smile as tears slipped from her eyes. "You think not?" She quickly composed herself and stood up. "Mahoja," she said to the woman that had escorted them. "prepare my ship. For years now I have been a supporter of the Black Order, helping from the shadows in anyway I could. If all of you are determined to go after General Cross, then I shall accompany you. General Cross was heading to the city of Edo in Japan."

* * *

"Do you think Master Cross is really in Japan?" Claire asked Allen as the two sat on top of the mast of the ship, waiting to depart. Claire had her knees drawn up to her chest as she looked out on the seemingly endless sea.

Allen smiled, reaching over and pulling Claire over to his side. "Of course he is. You know our master won't be killed by something like drowning."

Claire managed a small smile. She looked back out at the sea and frowned as she saw a dark cloud coming towards them. A cold chill ran over her. "Allen, what is that?"

Allen's eye suddenly snapped to life. "Claire, get down on the ship, now!" He took a deep breath and shouted as loud as he could. "Incoming Akuma!"


	20. Suman

**Sakura02: And after the giant flying torso…:)**

**fictiongurl3553: I'm not sure if there will be any pairings here. If the author has any canon pairings in the story then they'll definitely be in here. As for Claire, I'm not too sure since she is only a child right now.**

**Thanks: rockbabyval, howlingwindofthestorm, HikariNoTenshi-San, Beyond The Dream, AnimeCrazed121, wreathdeathscythe, and Storygirl95 for reviewing!**

**Over 200 reviews! Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you will all continue reading and enjoying this story!**

* * *

Claire didn't need to be told twice. She activated her Innocence and flew towards the shore in hopes of finding Lenalee. She could hear the Akuma behind her, quickly closing in. She had never seen so many Akuma all in one place before. She cried out in surprise as wave after wave of Akuma…flew past her. Claire blinked, surprised to find herself hovering in a cloud of Akuma, none of which seemed to pay her any mind.

She spun around when she heard a familiar voice cry out. "Allen!" Abandoning her mission to find Lenalee for the moment, Claire flew off after the Akuma that had a hold of Allen by his foot. "Let him go!"

"Oh, look!" The Akuma that didn't have a hold of Allen squealed in delight. "Another Exorcist. Here, you eat the little one and give me that one!"

"Why would I want the runt?" Mumbled the Akuma that had Allen.

"Claire, run." Allen grit out.

"I said, let him go!" Claire shouted before sending a wave a needle sharp feathers directly into the face of the Akuma holding Allen. "Allen!" She dove after the falling Exorcist, but was pulled up short by the other Akuma grabbing Allen.

The Akuma leered at Claire. "Come any closer and I'll…" The Akuma never got to finish its sentence as it was suddenly smashed to bits.

Claire breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was that had destroyed the Akuma and caught Allen. "Lenalee, are you okay?"

Lenalee smiled as Claire flew over. "Yes…" Her voice trailed off as she looked to the side where the Akuma were flying towards. Her eyes widened in horror, causing Claire and Allen to turn and see what it was.

"What is that?" Claire asked, her voice oddly hushed.

Floating in the air was a giant torso. A cross looked like it was carved into the neck of the torso. The Akuma were swarming towards it, shouts of glee coming from all around.

Claire cried out as the Akuma suddenly turned to the three Exorcist and attacked. "Lenalee! Allen!" She couldn't see either of them through the swarm of Akuma.

"Oh! Here's one! Here's one!" One of the Akuma cried in joy as it came close to Claire. It stared at her for a moment as Claire pulled her wings back, ready to strike out at any of the Akuma that tried to hurt her. "Oh…we can't kill this one. The Noah will get mad at us."

"Should we bring her to The Noah?" Another asked. "That will please The Noah, won't it?"

"No." Said the first. "Let's leave her. The Noah said to not touch her."

Claire hovered in the air as the Akuma flew past her. She shook herself from her stupor and flew away from the torso in order to try and find Lenalee and Allen. Surely Lenalee had caught Allen. Lenalee wouldn't have let Allen fall…

"Claire!"

"Allen!" Claire flew down to where Allen and Lenalee were standing on a small outcropping on one of the large rock hills. She hugged him tightly. "Are you okay?"

Allen smiled. "I'm fine. What about you?"

Before Claire could answer, Lenalee gave out a scream of terror before falling to her knees. "Lenalee, what's wrong?" Claire released Allen and immediately went to Lenalee. "Are you okay?"

"Lenalee?" Allen knelt beside her, wrapping his arms protectively around her.

"A Fallen One…" Lenalee whimpered out. "When a non-Accommodator forcibly attempts to synchronize with an Innocence, God becomes furious. Such an act is a terrible sin and those that commit it fall from grace. But, that's Suman over there." Lenalee choked out through her tears. "He was an Accommodator. What sin could he commit to become a Fallen One?"

"Allen, I think Suman is doing something." Claire tugged impatiently at Allen's sleeve as a sudden explosion destroyed all the Akuma attacking Suman.

Allen held Lenalee and Claire close as the aftershock of the explosion shook the ground beneath them. "This is insane."

"What should we do?" Claire asked as they all stood up. "We can't just leave him like that, right?"

"We have to save him." Lenalee said with determination, her tears slowly drying up. "We have to save Suman."

"Claire, you stay here where it's safe." Allen said.

"No way!" Claire protested. "If worst comes to worst, you guys can always use me as a shield since the Akuma aren't supposed to hurt me."

"Claire, what are you talking about?" Allen asked as Lenalee prepared to attack the next swarm of Akuma heading towards Suman.

"The Noah told them they couldn't hurt me." Claire said softly.

Lenalee and Allen exchanged glances, but didn't press Claire for more information as they had more pressing matters to attend to. "Claire, hold on tight to Allen." Lenalee instructed as she grabbed Allen's hand.

Allen smiled reassuringly at Claire as she gripped tightly to his waist. Claire squeezed her eyes shut tightly as the three were swept towards Suman in a spiral of Lenalee's powers. The Akuma in front of them were blown away as they closed in on Suman. "Claire, you can let go now." Allen said softly as they landed the spikes surrounding Suman's upper body that was sticking out of the torso. "Lenalee, be careful."

"We need to pull him out." Claire said as she took in his blank stare and gaping mouth. She had never seen someone alive look so…dead.

Allen reached toward Suman in order to pull him out when a little girl was suddenly pushed to the surface of the torso, only her head sticking out as she cried for her mother. As the torso pulled the little girl back in, Allen reached forward and yanked her out.

"Allen!" Claire screamed as he was yanked into the torso as he handed the little girl to Lenalee. "Give him back! Give Allen back!" Claire panicked, kicking and punching furiously at the spot where Allen had disappeared.

"Claire, calm down." Lenalee said, though her voice was tight. "We'll get him out, just give me a moment to think."

Claire stopped her assault on the torso. "Is she okay?"

Lenalee looked at the little girl for the first time. Her eyes widened as she realized the little girl wasn't breathing. "I need to resuscitate her." She glared over at the Akuma that were coming toward them at a fast rate. "I can't do anything for her here, though…"

"Take her somewhere safe." Claire said quickly, already moving protectively in front of Lenalee. Her wings were pulled back tight, ready to attack. "I'll protect Suman and Allen while you save the girl and go get Lavi and the others. I won't let these Akuma hurt either of them."

"Claire…" Lenalee gave Claire a quick kiss on the head. "I'll be back soon!" With that, Lenalee took off with the small girl.

Claire gasped as Suman sent out another energy attack, getting rid of the wave of Akuma. Luckily, she was close enough to him that she was not hurt. She glanced over her shoulder at the person that was supposed to be Suman before turning fully to him. "Suman, if you're still in there…if you can hear me…please give Allen back…" She gasped in surprise as Allen was suddenly spat out. She caught his hand and pulled him back to the spikes before her could fall. "Allen, are you okay?"

"Claire, the Innocence is trying to kill Suman for betraying his comrades to the Akuma!" Allen shouted. He placed a hand on Suman's back. "Suman, can you here me?"

"What? Can Innocence do that?" Claire asked. She turned back to Suman as she heard him groan in pain. "Hey, Suman, hang in there! We're going to save you, okay? Just hang on a little longer." Just as she placed her hand on his shoulder a shock of energy went through Suman. Claire cried out in surprise, but her cry was drowned out by Suman's scream of agony.

Allen flinched as Suman coughed blood all over himself and Claire's face. "Suman?"

"Who's there?" Suman's voice groaned out weakly.

"Suman, my name is Claire and this is Allen." Claire said excitedly, doing her best to ignore the blood on her face and in her hair. "We're here to save you."

"Curse you all." Suman hissed in a demonic voice. Over and over, he cursed everyone. "Let everything be destroyed!"

"Allen!" Claire cried out in surprise as the torso suddenly began falling through the air. "Allen, there's a village down there!"

"Suman, stop!" Allen screamed desperately as they hurtled closer and closer to the village. "Suman!"


	21. Goodbye, Suman

**I am so sorry for my long absence everyone! It was the end of the semester and Physics was kicking my butt. I'm all done now with the Spring semester so updates should be much more frequent :) Thank you all for your patience and continued support!**

**Sakura02: Lol, yes, we are slowly getting closer and closer to the blowdart. At least Claire has her real daddy and then her pretend daddy at the order XD**

**Singular Poisonous Ashes: I can't tell who her father is yet, though it will be revealed very soon.**

**Strike Justice: Hmmm, I'm not sure yet :)**

**Thanks: Ichigo08, Sakura Ichigo Morihiko, AnimeCrazed121, MCRDanime, and April Marciano, for your reviews!**

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"Knock it off, Suman!" Claire shouted, throwing wave after wave of feathers into Suman. "You can't destroy that village!"

Allen was attempting to stop Suman as well. His attempts were thwarted by Suman biting down on his hand. He winced in pain as he swore Suman was going to break his hand with the sheer force of his bite. "Suman, we'll save you from the Innocence! Please stop before you kill someone!"

"Suman, please let Allen go!" Claire had stopped throwing feathers and hovered close beside Allen, unsure of whether she should try and yank Allen's hand from Suman's mouth.

Suman stared blankly up at her and for a moment, a flicker of Suman's old self seemed to come back to his eyes.

"Suman…" Claire smiled gently and reached out to him. Her eyes widened in horror as Suman clamped down even harder on Allen's hand. "Allen!" Claire screamed as Suman slammed into the side of one of the rocky cliffs surrounding the nearby village. She fluttered away from the flying debris. It took her a few moments to gain her bearings and by the time she did, she'd lost sight of Allen and Suman was attacking the village. She hesitated for only a moment before rushing off after Suman in an attempt to stop him from attacking the village.

"Suman, you have stop!" Claire begged as she hovered in front of his face. Her hands trembling, she placed her hands on either side of Suman's face, Allen's blood still dripping from his mouth. "We want to help you, Suman. We want you to come home with us."

"I…want…everyone to…die…" Suman groaned out as he continued to attack.

Claire barely had time to move out of the way as she sensed something coming up behind her fast. Her eyes lit up as she saw the familiar form of Allen's Innocence slam Suman into the cliffs. She flew back over to Suman and once again, held his face between her hands. "Allen wants to save you too! Can't you hear him calling to you?"

Indeed, Allen was screaming loud enough for Suman and Claire to hear his voice clearly. "Don't give into the Innocence! Didn't you want to live at all cost? I saw the little girl in your memories; your daughter! You never wanted to be an Exorcist, did you? You did it in order to pay for your daughter's disease! Even though you could never see them again, you longed to see your family! That's why you betrayed your colleagues! You wanted to live, didn't you?"

Claire was rather surprised to learn that Suman had a daughter. "Suman, is that true?" She winced as he continued attacking the village. She could hear the sounds of the villagers screaming as they were attacked. The sound of a child crying for their father rose above the others and caused Suman to pause. "Suman, what was your daughter's name?"

"Jaime…" he said softly. "Get…away…"

"What?" Claire gasped as Suman screamed in agony and the giant torso began disintegrating. "Suman, what are you doing?"

Suman looked at Claire with clear eyes. "What's your name, Exorcist?"

"Claire." Claire answered.

Suman smiled at Claire. "My daughter is your age." He blinked as Allen was suddenly beside Claire, looking exhausted from having to climb all the way there.

Allen smiled brightly at the relieved look on Claire's face and Suman's confused one. "My name is Allen Walker."

Suman nodded slowly. "It seems my time has come. When I die, this monster will disappear and won't be able to hurt anyone anymore. I'm so sorry. I just…I just wanted to see my family again." He whispered as tears fell from his eyes.

"You can't do that!" Claire shouted, tears falling from her own eyes. "You've got a daughter, right? You can't just leave her! You can't let your daughter grow up without a daddy! Growing up without a daddy…it's the worst. It'll hurt even more for your daughter because she knew you, she got a chance to love you! I don't want there to be another girl like me that doesn't have a daddy!" She blinked as Allen suddenly activated his Innocence. She could see that it was badly broken and that something was wrong. "Allen…?"

"Suman, I'm going to remove your Innocence with my own." Allen shouted over the chaos around them. "I'm going to have to pull you out as soon as I do it, but my arm is broken and neither myself nor Claire alone have the strength to pull you out. You have to latch on with your teeth and no matter what, don't let go! Claire, I'm going to need your help to pull him out. I…I don't want another little girl to suffer like you have either…"

Claire nodded immediately and latched onto Allen's waist. She wanted to reassure Allen that she was glad she was with him, but she knew now wasn't the time. Right now, their sole focus was on saving Suman. She knew when Allen had reached Suman's Innocence when a painful electrical shock rushed through Allen and into her as well. She screamed, but her grip on Allen didn't loosen in the slightest.

"Stop it, both of you!" Suman shouted desperately. "I've killed my comrades and innocent people…"

Allen smiled shakily and held his hand out to Suman. "You have to live…for all those that have died, you have to be happy…"

"Suman, please!" Claire shouted desperately, biting back another scream. "We want to see you happy! We want you to get to see your family again!"

"Now, Claire!" Allen suddenly shouted.

Claire pushed back with her wings with all her might. Her scream mixed with Allen's and Suman's and she was suddenly spiraling to the ground. She let out a sharp yelp as she landed on the ground on her back. It took her a few moments to get air back into her lungs. When she did, she shakily stood up and walked over to Allen whom was laying face down on the ground. "Allen, are you okay?" She called softly, an edge of worry in her voice.

Allen groaned and lifted his head up. He smiled briefly in relief when he saw Claire kneeling before him, safe and sound. "Yes. You?"

Claire nodded. She looked a few feet in front of Allen and stiffened when she saw Suman crouched there, not moving. "Suman? Are you okay, Suman?" She asked as she and Allen approached the unresponsive man. "Allen, what's wrong with him?"

Allen looked with wide eyes at the man kneeling before them. He looked at Claire with her wide green eyes staring up at him. He couldn't tell her…he couldn't tell her that Suman's soul was gone. He was alive physically, but his soul was dead. Allen looked down at the Innocence in his hand that had once belonged to Suman. Tears of anger welled in his eyes and he slammed his fist on the ground in anger. "Why?"

Claire immediately wrapped her arms around Allen's head and held his head to her chest. She kissed the top of his head as tears fell from her eyes as well. "We should send him back to be with his family…" She whimpered out.

Allen finally straightened, pulling Claire into a tight hug. "Yes. Timcanpy, go get Lenalee and the others. He's still alive."

What happened next horrified Claire. Suman suddenly began bubbling before exploding right in front of her and Allen. Bits of blood splashed onto their already bloody faces. She felt the presence of the person behind them before she heard him speak.

"Bye-bye, Suman." The man with the top hat sneered, a wicked smirk on his face.


	22. Kidnapped

**Sakura02: Lol! Man-Cub! Soon, Young Jedi, soon. Yes, Claire is about to be a very cranky little lady**

**Sakura Ichijo Morihiko: You're anger towards the Millennium Earl is completely understandable :)**

**Thanks: rockbabyval, AnimeCrazed121, HikariNoTenshi-San, and kitty kitty love for reviewing.**

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Claire couldn't move, couldn't breathe. It was as though time had completely slowed down. She barely felt Suman's blood splatter on her face and she hardly heard the man's mocking voice behind them. She stared at the bloody mass that had once been Suman. She clenched her fist into the skirt of her uniform as she bid her tears to stay at bay. Now there would be another girl just like her; a little girl that would grow up without their father.

Her attention was brought back to reality as Suman's blood suddenly seemed to come alive. The wind whipped up, causing the bamboo around them to rustle and stir as though it too had a life of its own. Hundreds, if not thousands, of strange black butterflies pulled themselves from Suman's blood and flew rapidly behind Claire and Allen.

Claire whipped around and watched in horrified fascination as the butterflies slammed into the man behind them hands, disappearing until only a swirling black hole was in either of the man's hands. When two large butterflies with skulls in the center of their bodies pulled themselves from the holes, Claire shuddered and glared hatefully at the man. "Who are you?"

"What did you do to Suman?" Allen shouted, equally enraged. He was taken aback as the man was suddenly rather close to his face.

The man stared closely at Allen. "It's really you, Card Shark Boy?" He asked incredulously. His gaze softened as he turned to Claire who looked like an angry cat ready to lash out. He boldly reached out and pushed a bloody strand of hair behind her ear. "And the pretty little angel is here too." He said softly. "Of course, you two must not recognize me in this form…then perhaps you are Allen Walker and this, this is definitely Claire…" His gentle gaze turned to one of shock as Claire slapped him across the face.

"Don't touch me, you creep!" Claire shrieked furiously. Her wings that had been hanging limply at her side were up now, ready to strike, though they were trembling from the effort. "What did you do to Suman?"

Allen's hand was balled into a fist at his side. He crouched protectively in front of Claire as he had no more strength to actually stand. "Are you the one that killed him and the others?"

The man seemed unfazed by Claire's slap as he gingerly touched his red cheek. He actually smiled at them and pulled out a cigarette. "Well, of course it was me. He was the enemy. Wouldn't you kill your enemy? Do you mind if I smoke?" He asked, though he'd already lit the cigarette and begun smoking. "Since neither of you can possibly escape, I'll show you my power." He looked between Allen's furious face and Claire's as well. He ruffled Claire's hair, his smile widening as she spat at him. "This is a Teez." He gestured to one of the butterflies flying around him. "They are man-eating golems that the Earl created. They multiply and grow by devouring humans. The Teez are just tools. My real power, on the other hand…"

Claire screamed in horror as the man's arm went straight through Allen's chest. She went to rush forward and fight the man, but the man easily reached out and grabbed her into a chokehold. "Leave him alone!" Claire shouted furiously.

The man smiled as he held Claire close to his side, making sure her feet touched the ground so he wasn't choking her completely. "Don't worry. He doesn't feel any pain, do you, Boy?" When Allen said nothing, the man continued. "My power is that I have the ability to pass through anything I want without touching it unless I want to. However, as I remove my arm, what do you think will happen if I decide to touch your heart? I can pull it still beating from your chest."

"Don't!" Claire screamed, trying to bite the man's arm. She gasped as he lifted her up slightly, making it difficult for her to breathe. Tears came unbidden to her eyes. "Don't hurt him."

"It's okay." Allen said softly, his face completely calm as he looked the man straight in the eye. "Don't cry in front of the enemy."

The man stared blankly at Allen before sighing and straightening up. He moved his grip to be around Claire's waist. He was rather surprised to find that Claire had almost immediately stopped crying as soon as Allen told her to. "I wouldn't soil my gloves with your blood. Normally, I'd just let the Teez feed on you."

Claire was rather surprised when the man released her from his grip. She immediately went to Allen, wrapping her arms protectively around his neck and glaring up at the man. She knew this man was a Noah. They needed to get away as quickly as possible. If only she could find a way to escape…

The man sighed remorsefully. "I wish I could've met you again in my 'white' form and played cards with you again, Boy. Unfortunately, my mission right now is to kill people associated with a certain individual. Now then, are you Allen Walker?" When Allen didn't give him an immediate answer, the man yanked Claire from Allen and once again put her in a chokehold while he grabbed Allen's throat with his other hand. "Are you Allen Walker?" He repeated.

_"That's him."_

Claire looked up and saw a card floating in front of the man. It seemed as though the voice were coming from the card. She wriggled vainly against the man. He had her wings pressed tightly against his side, making it impossible for her to move them at all.

_"Delete him." _The voice from the card urged.

"No!" Claire screamed in horror as the man laid a hand on Allen's Innocence arm and destroyed the part that connected the arm to Allen's shoulder. She bit back a sob at the shocked look on Allen's face. "Stop it! Leave him alone!"

The man ignored her cries. He smirked as he stared down at Allen. "Did you know that Innocence can be destroyed by the Noah Clan and the Earl? We've destroyed all the Innocence we've found so far, but we're really looking for the Heart. If we find the Heart, it'll destroy all the Innocence in the world. Let's see if when I destroy your Innocence, it destroys this sweet little angel's and Suman's."

"Stop!" Allen screamed as the man completely destroyed his arm. Despite the shock of having his Innocence destroyed, Allen managed to glance over at Claire and confirm her Innocence was safe. He could see how badly she was trembling and just how terrified she really was. "Let her go, please."

The man glanced down at Claire and grinned. "No can do. Now, I'm not too keen on having to rip her wings off so let's hope Suman's Innocence is the Heart."

"Don't let him get Suman's Innocence." Claire managed to choke out as the man's grip around her throat tightened.

Allen gave her an almost imperceptible nod. "Tim, take Suman's Innocence and fly." When Tim began shaking back and forth, Allen continued speaking calmly, his eyes never leaving Claire's as the man approached. "You have to. Without you, the others will never find Master. Now, go."

Claire managed a weak smile as Tim scooped the Innocence up into his mouth and flew off. She wasn't too keen about having her wings ripped off and at the very thought of it, began struggling all the harder in the man's grasp. She stopped struggling for a moment as the man holding her knelt beside Allen. "What are you doing? Leave Allen alone! You already destroyed his Innocence!"

"Sorry." The man said, sounding almost genuinely so. "My orders are to kill everyone associated with this kid's master, including him." He brought one of the Teez out and placed it against Allen's chest. "Puncture his heart just a little." He said softly. "He's very brave. Let him writhe in pain as his life slowly squirts from his heart."

"Allen!" Claire screamed, her struggling resuming anew as blood spurted from Allen's chest and he violently coughed up blood. "No!" She sobbed as the man pulled off one of Allen's silver buttons and then took the cards Allen kept in his jacket and threw them over Allen's body. "Let me go!" She cried as the man began walking away, taking her further and further away from Allen.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Claire." The man said her name for the first time finally. "Deactivate your Innocence right now."

"What?" Claire blinked, the man's face a blur through her tears. "I thought you were going to destroy my Innocence. Just let me go. Let me go to Allen." She pleaded to the man.

The man put her down on the ground. He wasn't worried about Claire attacking. He knew she was spent from the battle with Suman. She was no threat to him now. He rested one hand gently on the side of her neck. With his index finger, the man slowly and gently pulled the locket Claire had received on the chain out from under her jacket. He smiled at her and patted her cheek. "It's time for you to come home, Claire. We've all been waiting for you for a long time."

"Wha…" Claire's sentence was suddenly cut off as the man pinched a pressure point on her neck. The last coherent thought Claire had as the darkness overtook her was of Allen and whether he was truly dying. "Allen…" She whispered softly as tears once again slipped down her cheek and the darkness completely swallowed her up.


	23. Father

**Anime girl122: Yes, we will finally find out who Claire's father is. I can't answer the rest of your questions right now. You'll have to keep reading and reviewing to find out :)**

**Sakura02: Haha, yeah, Tyki's just inappropriate in general. You know she's going to torture every last one of them :)**

**Okami-G: It'll be revealed why he didn't destroy her Innocence in a couple chapters**

**erica. phoenix .16: Yes, Tyki was the one that kidnapped Claire. No, the 14****th**** is not her father**

**Thank you: BANEHiwatari, 4Evr. –A. –fAIlUrE, Storygirl95, HikariNoTenshi-San, AnimeCrazed121, and kitty kitty love for reviewing.**

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"Allen!" Claire screamed, sitting up in the soft bed. She looked around frantically and her panic rose. She had no idea where she was. The room she was in was all white and bright sunlight was drifting through the white curtains. Everything flooded back to her; Suman being killed, the Noah appearing…tears fell down her face as she remembered the last time she'd seen Allen. There had been so much blood…she pulled her knees up to her chest and sobbed. "Allen…I'm so scared…please be okay…please save me…"

"Oh good, you're awake." Road smiled happily as she skipped over to the bed and sat down beside Claire. She frowned as Claire didn't even look at her and continued sobbing. She reached out to hug Claire. "Hey, Claire, what's wrong? Don't be so sad. You're home…"

"Don't touch me!" Claire screamed, slapping Road's hands away from her. She glared up at the Noah through her tears. "What do you freaks want from me? Just hurry up and destroy my Innocence and be done with it!"

Road blinked before giggling. "Why would we hurt you, Claire?" She reached out and wrapped Claire in a tight hug, despite the little girl struggling against her. She kissed the top of Claire's head before nuzzling her head affectionately. "You're part of our family. Your father has waited for so long to finally see you again. Now, let's get you dressed and down into the dining room. Everyone's waiting to meet you."

Claire glared weakly up at Road, still struggling against her. "I don't want to meet anyone! Just let me go!"

"Now, Claire," Road's voice suddenly had a cold and harsh tone. She didn't miss the way Claire tensed up. "stop being so difficult. I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't obey, you'll leave me no choice. Understand?"

Claire hesitated for a moment. Every part of her was screaming to keep fighting back, to not stop until she either escaped or, more than likely, they killed her. Another part, a part that sounded a lot like Allen to her, told her to wait and bide her time. If she gained their trust, they'd let their guard down and she'd be able to escape. After another beat, Claire nodded her head. "What am I supposed to wear?"

Road's face immediately brightened. She hopped up and went over to the white dresser in the corner of the room. "Your father picked this dress out."

Claire blinked as Road held up a simple white sundress. Reluctantly, she allowed Road to help her change out of her tattered Exorcist uniform and into the dress. She was rather surprised at just how sore she still was. Her heart clenched painfully as she thought of Allen, laying on the ground and slowly bleeding to death.

"No more tears." Road said gently, wiping the new tears from Claire's eyes. She smiled sadly at the girl. "I know you've been raised to hate us, but trust me when I say, we all love you and are so glad you're home."

Claire said nothing as Road took her hand and led her out of the room. The dress felt cool against her skin. The thin straps hugged her shoulders and the skirt of the dress just brushed her ankles. Claire fiddled with her hair as it hung loose around her shoulders. She didn't pay much attention to where Road took her and nearly ran into the Noah when she suddenly stopped.

Road smiled at Claire as they stood before a rather ominous pair of doors. She squeezed Claire's hand reassuringly and knelt down in front of the small girl. "It's all right. They can all seem intimidating, but they're really nice. You'll love them."

Claire seriously doubted she'd love any of them. After all, Road had hurt not only Allen, but Miranda and Lenalee. The Noah in the woods had left Allen to die…Claire quickly shook her head to keep the despairing thoughts of Allen at bay. She put on her best brave face as Road opened the door.

"Oh, my sweet little Claire, you're finally here!"

It was official. Claire was either having a nightmare or she had died and for some reason, gone to Hell. The Millennium Earl had skipped over as soon as road opened the door and scooped Claire up into the air. He spun her around a few times before hugging her tightly and nuzzling his cheek with hers. "Oh my dear, dear, Claire! I'm so terribly sorry if I frightened you those times we met."

"Put me down…please." She added politely, remembering the manners Allen had taught her. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Claire scooted back over to Road. Despite her strong dislike for the Noah, she was the only one Claire knew and felt safest with. Claire peered around the Millennium Earl and saw a large oval table with tall chairs around it. She saw the Noah from earlier sitting at the table, smiling warmly over at her. She stuck her tongue out him in response. There were two strange looking boys that couldn't be older than Lavi. They were arguing rather loudly and paying no attention to her. Beside them was a rather pretty woman with long hair in a braid. The last man Claire noticed was the strangest of all to her. He was rather large and muscular and was devouring a huge bowl of sweets all on his own.

The woman was the first to stand up and walk over to Claire. She knelt down and patted Claire on the head. "Hello, Claire. My name is Lulu Bell. It's nice to finally get to meet you."

The two boys finally seemed to notice Claire. They grinned and bounded over, both shoving the other to try and be in front of the other. The boy with long blonde hair managed to push himself in front of the one with messy dark hair. "I'm Jasdero!"

"And I'm Devit!" The other boy chimed in, shoving the other out of the way.

Claire nodded at the two uncertainly. She had to bite back a smile as the two continued shoving and fighting with each other. She hated to admit it, but they were rather funny.

"Oi, Skin, come introduce yourself!" Road shouted impatiently.

The giant of a man looked up and sighed in annoyance as he stood up. He was over by the group in five huge strides. He held one hand out to Claire. "Skin."

Hesitantly, Claire placed her hand in Skin's. Her eyes widened as his giant hand closed around her tiny one and shook it. "You're really big." She blurted out before she could stop herself. She flushed bright red as the Noah around her began laughing loudly. She straightened as the man from the forest finally stepped forward.

The other Noah moved out of the way as he approached. Even Road released Claire's hand and stepped off to the side. For the first time, Claire really looked at the man and noticed that he was rather handsome. As soon as the thought entered her mind, though, she remembered Suman and Allen and the thought immediately vanished. She clenched her hands tightly at her side as the man crouched down in front of her, a soft and gentle smile on his face. Claire was taken completely off guard when the man reached out and pulled her into a tight hug.

The man simply held her for a while. He ran his hands through her hair and touched her face. "Hello, Claire." He finally spoke, his voice much gentler than before in the forest. "My name is Tyki Mikk. I've waited for six years to finally get to hold you. You're mother tried so hard to hide you from us…from me…"

Claire frowned as something fell out of Tyki's pocket. She wriggled away from him and picked up what she initially thought was a tiny folded piece of paper. She slowly opened it, noting how all the Noah's eyes were upon her. As soon as she saw that it was in fact not a piece of paper, but a picture, Claire's breath caught in her throat. Her hand immediately went to the gold locket around her neck that she now had no doubt had belonged to her mother. When she'd completely unfolded the picture, her hands trembled and tears fell from her eyes. She wasn't sure if the tears were of joy, fear, sadness, anger, or a combination of all. She looked up at Tyki with wide, watery eyes. "You…you're my…"

Tyki pulled Claire into another tight hug as she let out a choked sob. He kissed the side of her head and continued holding her as she cried. "My beautiful daughter…my sweet little Claire. You're finally home where you belong."


	24. Playtime

**I'm going to start putting updates on my profile every Sunday so that you can all see what's going on and whether I'll be updating the upcoming week or not. Also, I'll start revealing little tidbits and hints of new stories to come so check my profile every Sunday!**

**Sakura02: Yeah, as I was writing it, it looked weird to me so he'll be David from now on. Why do our babies seem to have an affinity for bonding with Mountains?**

**BANEHiwatari: Hm…I think if I had to pick based on a majority, I prefer the Black Order over the Noah. However, I absolutely adore Tyki and the Twins :)**

**Hannah V: If all the babies were to come together...it would be a cutely terrifying sight :)**

**Thanks: Anime girl122, 4Evr. –A. –fAIlUrE, MangaMagic, rockbabyval, Rakuen91, Rachael Hyuuga, Sakura Ichigo Morihiko, Darka Moon, GoldPhantom and z-eion, ****0athk33p3r and 0b1ivi0n****, Heartbringer, HikariNoTenshi-San, lalala0100, meimay1235, AnimeCrazed121, rainbowdragongirl101, kitty kitty love, MikaUchiha666, erica. phoenix. 16, sakura2112, MCRDanime, and TG for reviewing!**

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Claire wasn't sure how long she'd been with the Noah now. It seemed like such a long time, but it was difficult to tell how many days had actually passed. She wasn't allowed outside and the days blurred together. She'd lost count of how many times she'd watched the sun set and rise from her large bay window in her room. She went to bed whenever it grew dark and always refused Tyki when he offered to tuck her in. She didn't eat much, only eating a complete meal when Road used her frighteningly stern voice.

"Claire!" Two now familiar voices sang just outside her bedroom door. The twins bounded into the room only to find Claire in her customary spot sitting in the middle of her bed. David walked over first, poking Claire impatiently in the forehead and grinning when the little girl whined in protest. "Come play with us!"

"No way." Claire pouted, batting David's hand away and glaring over at Jasdero, daring him to do the same.

Jasdero pouted. "Please? We'll take you outside." He didn't miss the way Claire seemed to brighten up at this. He held his hand out for Claire, as did David. "Come on."

Claire hesitated. She didn't like the thought of spending time with any of the Noah. On the other hand, she was so bored of just sitting in her room and doing absolutely nothing. She hadn't even released her Innocence since she arrived. Tentatively, she held David and Jasdero's hands. She allowed the two boys to drag her through winding hallway after winding hallway until she was quite lost.

She had to blink against the bright sunlight that hit her eyes. She hadn't been outside in so long. Without really thinking, Claire activated her Innocence and flew up into the air, releasing her grip on David and Jasdero. For a while, all she did was fly around, flipping and spinning happily in the air. It felt good to feel the wind whipping her hair around and against her feathers. She hadn't realized just how much she missed flying until now. After a moment, she looked around at her surroundings.

It was a beautiful looking town made of nothing but white buildings. Her heart sank as she realized she had no clue where she was. She wouldn't be able to just run away. She'd just get lost and when the Noah found her…well, she didn't want to think of how she would be punished. Reluctantly, she flew back down to where David and Jasdero were waiting.

Jasdero grinned as he crouched down in front of Claire, as did David. "Let's play a game, Claire!"

Claire frowned suspiciously. "What kind of game?"

"The fun kind of course." David laughed when Claire rolled her eyes. "Let's play Hide-n-Seek. It'll be boring if we just play, though, so what do you want if you win?"

Claire thought for a moment. She was tempted to demand that they let her go, but she knew the Millennium Earl would never allow that. She thought for a moment before grinning triumphantly. "If I win, you and the others have to leave me alone when I'm in my room." She knew they wouldn't let her escape meals with them, but she could spend the rest of the time in her room, far away from all of them.

Jasdero and David frowned before reluctantly nodding. "Fine. If we win….you have to spend time with Tyki."

This surprised Claire. She had figured they would make her do something stupid; like their laundry or something. She'd always gotten the impression that they didn't care much for Tyki. She still refused to acknowledge that he was her father and she always ignored him more than she did the others.

"It's annoying seeing him mope and sulk around because you won't talk to him." Jasdero whined. "It's no fun to pick on him when he's like that."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Fine. What are the rules?"

"We'll be it." David decided. "If we find you before sunset, we win. If not, you win. We'll count to one hundred so you better find a good place to hide."

Claire quickly flew off as soon as they began counting. She had to find a place to hide, a place they would never find her. She almost thought about hiding under her bed, but she worried that would be too obvious. Her eyes lit up as she suddenly thought of the perfect hiding place. She flew back towards the main building. She slipped through the hallways and straight passed her room, heading straight for her hiding place.

Slowly, Claire opened the door to Tyki's room and looked around cautiously. She was relieved to find that he was not in the room. She slipped in and quietly shut the door before diving under Tyki's bed. The twins would never think to look for her in here since she had flat out told Tyki on her first day that she didn't want to see him. From her hiding place, she looked around the room. It was almost identical to hers with a large bay window looking out on the town. There was a tall bookshelf against the wall beside the fireplace and a comfortable looking chair in the corner by the window.

Claire wasn't sure how many hours passed as she stayed in her hiding spot. At one point, she heard the twins running down the hallway and she held her breath as she heard them pause outside the room. She'd been able to breathe once she heard them run off again. She was bored and she was sore from not moving for so long, but she refused to move until the sun had set. She watched through the window as the sun slowly moved across the sky.

After a while, she simply dozed off. She dreamed of Allen as she slept. She saw him all bandaged up, his arm where his Innocence had once been was missing. He was training and no matter how many times Claire watched him struggle, he always got up and kept training. _"Hang in there, Claire."_ She heard his voice whisper. _"I'm going to save you."_

Claire woke up to the feeling of someone lightly touching her cheek. She rubbed her eyes and found that she had begun crying in her sleep. She tensed when she looked up, her green eyes meeting the yellow eyes of a Noah. For a moment, she thought it was one of the twins. When she realized who it was, she immediately regretted her hiding place.

Tyki gave her a small smile. "How long have you been under there?" He sighed as she simply glared at him and shrank away from his hand. "Come on out. It's almost time for dinner."

"I can't." Claire said simply, refusing to look at Tyki. She missed the surprised look on Tyki's face at the fact that she had actually spoken to him.

Tyki laid down on the floor on his stomach so he could see Claire better. "Are you stuck?"

Claire quickly shook her head. "No. I just don't want to lose the game." She wrinkled her nose and began sneezing. She blinked as she was pulled out from under the bed.

Tyki sighed and stood Claire up. He crouched down in front of her and dusted off her wrinkled white dress and frowned at her dirty bare feet. "You're going to need a bath. What game?"

Claire fisted her hands into the sides of her dress. This was the closet she'd allowed Tyki to come to her since she'd been initially introduced to the Noah. She watched him as he continued dusting off her dress. "I'm playing with David and Jasdero. We're playing hide-n-seek. If I win, all of you have to leave me alone when I'm in my room."

Tyki nodded and finally straightened so he was looking his daughter straight in the eye. "What if they win?"

"They want me to spend time with you." Claire answered plainly. The two stood there staring at each other for a while, neither saying anything. Claire couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes. It wasn't fair. She'd finally gotten to meet her father and he had hurt Allen badly. She rubbed at her eyes and shied away as Tyki reached out to her. "Why do you have to be evil? You killed my mommy and you've killed lots of Exorcist. You even took Allen away from me." She blinked as Tyki pulled her into a hug. She didn't feel like struggling so she simply sagged against him.

Tyki didn't say anything for a while. He simply held Claire and stroked her hair. He didn't bother defending himself to her. He knew it would only upset her more and she may pull away from him again. He glared over at the door when David and Jasdero stuck their heads into the room. He turned back to Claire as the two quietly shut the door. He looked down when he realized Claire was no longer crying and found that the little girl was sound asleep against him. Carefully, he picked Claire up and carried her back to her room. He tucked the little girl in and kissed her forehead.

Claire slowly blinked her eyes open as she heard her Tyki closing the door. "Leave it open a little." She called out softly, causing Tyki to poke his head back in. "I don't like the dark." She admitted.

Tyki smiled and nodded. "Of course. Do you need anything? A glass of water? A story?"

"No…" Claire answered. She didn't miss the disappointed look on Tyki's face.

"All right. Good night, Claire." Tyki said, closing the door almost all the way, but leaving it open a tiny crack so a bit of light from the hallway spilled in.

"Good night…Daddy." Claire said the word for the first time and it felt strange in her mouth, but not completely unpleasant. She snuggled back under her covers and drifted back off to sleep.

Tyki stood out in the hallway, his back resting against the wall. He had heard Claire. He couldn't help the smile on his face as he walked down the hallway towards his own room.


	25. How I Met Your Mother

**resha31773: Claire is going to learn more about her mother in this chapter.**

**Sakura02: Really, the image of any of the Noah reading a bedtime story is terrifying…**

**Thank you: rockbabyval, GoldPhantom and z-eion, kawaiipandaz, erica. phoenix 16, Heartbringer, Sakura Ichigo Morihiko, kitty kitty love, Otaku97, xx-Snow White Sorrow-xx, Rein Walker, HibariTsunayoshi-Kun, and Sutsuko for reviewing!**

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Claire hesitated outside the large oak door. She didn't want to spend anymore time with him than was absolutely necessary. If she could, she'd avoid him at all cost. She had to know, though. Steeling herself, Claire knocked quietly on the door. She silently hoped that he wouldn't be there. Her hopes were dashed as he opened the door.

Tyki was surprised to see Claire standing in his doorway. "What is it, Claire? Is something wrong? Were the twins bothering you again?"

"I want to know." Claire spoke so softly that Tyki had to bend down to hear her. "I want to know about my mother. I want to know why you killed her."

Tyki swayed nervously in his doorway, unsure what to do. Finally, he let out a reluctant sigh and moved so Claire could enter his room. He watched his tiny daughter walk gracefully into the room and sit down in one of the large leather chairs. He sat down at her feet and smiled up at her. "You look exactly like your mother. You even scowl like her."

The scowl on Claire's face deepened. She curled up in the chair so her head was resting on the arm of the chair right next to Tyki's. Her green eyes looked into Tyki's yellow ones. "Why didn't you just leave her alone?"

Tyki sighed and lit a cigarette, leaning his head back as he stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. "I didn't realize she was part of the Order at first. I met your mother at a party my brother was hosting. I'm really not sure what she was doing there. Maybe she suspected that my brother was not what he appeared to be." He smiled at the memory and paused.

Claire waited a beat. "Did you talk to her?"

"Oh, I tried." Tyki answered casually. He put his cigarette out when he saw the way Claire's nose wrinkled in clear distaste. "Every time I got close to her, she disappeared. No, I didn't get to talk to her until two weeks later. I ran into her while I was in my white form."

"Did she know it was you?" Claire whispered anxiously, her gaze focused entirely on Tyki.

"No, I don't think she did." Tyki said softly. He closed his eyes as he remembered the way Claire's mother had looked, her long blonde hair pulled back in a low ponytail and her sharp emerald eyes disapproving of the card shark. "She beat me at poker. She was more cutthroat than…" He quickly trailed off when he saw the flash of sadness and anger in Claire's voice when he almost mentioned Allen's name. "After that, I'd always make a point to try and find her when I was in my white form. We became good friends and eventually…well…you are the end result." He didn't feel like going into all the details with his six year old daughter.

Claire stared at him again for a moment. "Why'd you kill her? Why'd you take my mommy away from me?"

Tyki's eyes darkened at this. "She took you away from me first. I tried to keep my true nature from her, and apparently, she had been doing the same. Your mother wasn't an Exorcist, but she was a Finder. On the same day that I discovered who she was, she discovered who I was." Tyki sighed and placed his forehead against Claire's. "She didn't even tell me she was pregnant with you. I sensed you, though. I knew you were mine. She ran off and I couldn't find her."

"We were always running away." Claire said quietly. "She was scared of you and the others. She was scared of what you would want with me."

"I just wanted my child. I don't find that to be an outlandish desire." Tyki answered coolly. He winced as Claire scooted away from him. He ran a hand through his hair irritably and sighed. He wanted Claire to trust him, but he seemed to be making things worse. "The Earl was, and still is, curious to see if the Noah blood will have any effect on you. He wanted us to find you and bring you home so we could raise you. When we finally tracked your mother down, you were nowhere to be found. I didn't hear anything about you for three years until the Earl pranced in one day and announced he had fought with you and another Exorcist. He told us all that you had an Innocence."

"Mommy gave it to me when I was two." Claire said, twirling a strand of blonde hair in her fingers. "She told me we had to protect it from bad and dangerous people, that we had to protect it from you. Why haven't you destroyed my Innocence yet?"

Tyki scoffed. "You think I would do anything that would hurt you?"

"You killed Mommy and you took Allen away from me." Claire pointed out coldly. "You've taken plenty from me. What's one more thing?"

"I wasn't there when your mother died." Tyki whispered so quietly that Claire barely heard him. "By the time I got there, she was already dead."

Claire straightened up. "Who killed her? Who killed my mommy?"

Tyki took a deep breath before suddenly standing up. "It's late. You should be in bed."

Claire frowned and remained in the chair. "I'm not tired. Who killed my mommy? Did you want my mommy dead?"

"No!" Tyki finally snapped angrily. He ran a hand through his hair and went back to kneel beside Claire when he saw the startled look on her face. "I didn't want your mother dead. I never wanted her dead. I just wanted to see you, talk to you, hold you."

"Why won't you tell me who killed her?" Claire asked, trying her best to stay in her spot despite Tyki tugging her out of the chair. She quickly realized she was losing the battle. "Please, tell me."

"It doesn't make any difference." Tyki answered gruffly, finally managing to pry Claire from the chair. He held her in his arms and carried her towards her room. "You hate us all regardless. You're so small for your age."

"Master Cross says it's because I have a parasite type Innocence." Claire said quietly. She blinked as Tyki sat her down inside her bedroom. She chewed thoughtfully on her lip as she watched Tyki's retreating back. "Thank you for telling me." Claire said quietly before slipping into her room, not bothering to see if Tyki had heard her or not.

That night, as Claire finally drifted off to sleep, she dreamt about her mother and father being together. She saw what her life would've been like if her mother hadn't been a Finder, if her father hadn't been a Noah. They would've all been so happy together. She would've had a family. The dream abruptly shifted and she dreamed of Allen, of Master Cross, Lenalee, Lavi, everyone at the Black Order, even Stupid Kanda. Though she didn't have a mother or a father there, they were her family. They were the ones that loved her and took care of her. Claire woke up long enough to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I wanna go home, Allen."


	26. Broken Wings

**I'm so sorry, everyone! I hate not updating for long periods of time like this. November was a rather chaotic month between NaNoWriMo, trying to find a second job, Thanksgiving, and becoming a Dual Major. I hope you will all forgive me and continue reading and reviewing!**

**Sakura02: Well, yes, Hitler man is a bit of a douche.**

**GoldPhantom and z-eion: Yes, we're getting close to the part where Allen gets Crown Clown**

**erica. phoenix 16: Haha, yes I can't tell you who killed her mother right now; that would spoil the fun. I actually hadn't thought about doing that with Allen, but I might now. Thanks for the idea!**

**Thanks: kawaiipandaz, rockbabyval, Heartbringer, bored411, MikaUchiha666, HibariTsunayoshi-Kun, kitty kitty love, Winged Wolfie Chibi, and i'm too lazy to log in for your reviews!**

**Over 300 reviews! You guys are awesome!**

* * *

Claire flew around the city absentmindedly. The Millennium Earl had decided she could be trusted enough that she didn't need to be supervised all hours of the day. Claire had been doing a great deal of thinking since her talk with Tyki. She wanted to know who it was that had taken her mother away from her. Had it even been one of the Noah?

"Well, well, if it isn't the little halfie." A rather grotesque looking Akuma hovered in the air before Claire, sneering at her.

Claire frowned and tried to fly around the Akuma. She glared furiously at the Akuma when he simply got in her way again. "What do you want? I'm kind of busy right now."

The Akuma snarled angrily at Claire and grabbed her by one of her thin wrists. "You think you have any of us fooled? We know whose side you're really on."

Again, Claire simply glared at the Akuma. She tried to pull her wrist from his grasp, but found him to be surprisingly strong. "I don't think I've ever said I was on your side. As soon as I get the chance, I'm going home. Now, let me go."

"Tyki-sama is being far too lenient with you." The Akuma growled. He reached up and roughly grabbed Claire's left wing, smirking in satisfaction when she wince in pain. "He's even letting you keep this disgusting Innocence. That's just not acceptable."

A loud cracking noise filled Claire's ears. There was an unbelievable pain radiating through her entire body, and then the Akuma let her go. She was falling through the sky. She wasn't too afraid and she thought idly in the back of her mind that she was probably in shock. She could see her limp wing flapping uselessly out of the corner of her eye. It was broken in multiple places and it hurt so bad. Was this really how she was going to die?

"I've got you, Claire." A soft, soothing voice cooed in Claire's ear.

Claire barely felt the warm arms that were holding her. She looked up and was just able to make out the worried face swimming before her own. "Road?"

Road smiled down at the little girl, cradling her close. "Shhh, you're all right. I've got you now. I'm going to get you to your room and then I'll deal with that Akuma."

Claire whimpered and did her best to twist so her wing wasn't resting on Road's arm. "It hurts…what'd I do to make that Akuma so mad? I just want Allen. I just want to go home."

"Don't worry, Claire. Everything's going to be okay." Road soothed. She finally got the small girl to her room and laid her down on her stomach. "What can I do to fix your wing? How can I make it better?"

"It's okay." Claire said softly, twitching her wings around gently. "It'll heal on it's own." She rested her head on her crossed arms and looked up at Road. "Thanks for catching me, Road."

Before Road could say anything, Tyki burst through the door. She stood back as Tyki rushed to his daughter's side. "Some of the Akuma don't care much for little Claire. I warned you not to let her go too far on her own."

Tyki smoothed Claire's head down. "Are you okay, Baby Girl?"

Claire nodded slowly. "This really mean Akuma broke my wing. I was falling and Road caught me. It's okay, though. My wing is already healing. See?" She flexed her wing and only flinched a little.

Tyki gave her a kiss on the forehead and smiled when she didn't shy away like she had done in the past. He stood up and turned to Road. "Did you get a good look at the Akuma?"

"No." Road said casually. "What'd he look like, Claire?"

Claire frowned thoughtfully. "He was really ugly. He kind of looked like a scary clown…" She blinked as Tyki spun on his heels and left the room. "Where're you going, Daddy?"

"I'll be back shortly." Tyki said coolly. "Road, keep an eye on Claire, please."

Road smiled and nodded. "Of course." She turned to Claire and grinned, skipping over and gingerly sitting on the bed beside Claire. She smoothed the little girl's frazzled hair down and kissed her head. "Do you still miss Allen and the Black Order that much? Can't you just be happy here with us?"

Claire shifted a little when Road laid down beside her to cuddle. Claire looked up into Road's golden eyes and shook her head. "I want to go home to Allen and the others. They're my family."

"We're your family too." Road protested, gently hugging the little girl to her.

"You've killed people and done bad things." Claire argued.

Road frowned. "So have the people in the Order. Why can you forgive them for killing and not us?"

Claire bit her lip, unsure of how to answer. She didn't know how the two were different, but they were. She just couldn't find the words to voice it. Instead, she yawned and curled up against Road. "I'm tired."

Road kissed Claire's head and sat up. "Take a nap. I'll go check on your father. If you need anything, just shout."

Once Road had left the room, Claire looked out her window. "I want to go home, Allen. I want to see you and everyone. I miss you." She was about to take a nap when her door was slammed loudly open. She looked over and was surprised at who she saw standing in the doorway. "Hi, Skin."

Skin nodded stiffly to the little girl, his hands full of brightly wrapped candies. He kicked the door closed and was beside Claire's bed in two strides. He dumped the candy on the bed before Claire. "Road told us what happened. The twins went to go help your dad."

Claire blinked up at Skin, not bothering to ask what her father and the twins were going to do. She already had a vague idea and she really didn't want to think about it. She looked at Skin curiously when he sat down on the bed beside her and began eating the candy. "What're you doing?"

"Eating." Skin answered simply. He held out a chocolate coin to Claire. "Here."

Claire smiled nervously at the giant Noah and took the chocolate. She couldn't help the wide grin on her face when she took the first bite. It had been so long since she'd gotten to eat chocolate. She smiled up at Skin. "Thank you!" The two went back to silently eating the sweets after Skin gave Claire a small nod. Claire hadn't spent much time with the huge Noah, because he terrified her. She had seen him get angry at some of the Akuma and rip them apart with his bare hands.

Once all the candy was gone, Skin gathered up the trash and threw it away. He patted Claire on the head. "Go to sleep. It'll help your wing."

"Okay." Claire burrowed under her covers and peeked up at Skin over the edge of her soft comforter. "Thanks again, Skin."

Skin simply nodded and left. "I'll go see if your dad needs help."

Claire stared up at the ceiling and sighed. Why did the Noah have to be so nice to her? It made it almost hard to hate them. "Allen…"


	27. Edo

**Gold Phantom: I'm not sure the exact number of chapters, but it will be very soon.**

**Sakura02: Well, yes, but Claire fears no one…except for the Earl…and Road…and scary mustache man…**

**Thank you: HikariNoTenshi-San, bored411, Masked Bard of Chaos, BANEHiwatari, rockbabyval, erica. phoenix16, AnimeCrazed121, Wolfsbane-Nin, Heartbringer, and Shaybo27 for reviewing!**

"Why am I here?" Claire asked curiously. She sat beside Tyki and kicked her legs in the small pond that Tyki was currently stealing fish from. Claire shook her head rapidly when Tyki offered her a wriggling fish.

Tyki patted his young daughter on the head and smiled. "We're looking for someone you know. There is a General from the Black Order here that we need to find."

Before Claire could ask who it was they were looking for, the strange little creature trapped in the card began screaming. "His name won't come off! Allen Walker is still alive!"

Tyki didn't miss the way Claire's eyes lit up when she heard this. He frowned and smacked the card with a wriggling fish. "You just aren't scrubbing hard enough."

Claire's heart wouldn't stop beating erratically for the next few minutes. Allen was alive. He was alive out there somewhere. She was so absorbed in her relief over Allen being alive, she didn't notice the twins harassing Tyki at first.

David knelt in front of Claire's face and waved his hand. "You alive in there, Claire?"

Jasdero cackled. "She's probably just excited because Tyki didn't kill that Allen kid."

Tyki rolled his eyes. "Shut up. I'm having to look for Cross because you two haven't killed him yet."

"You're trying to kill Master Cross?" Claire screamed. She punched David in the face and glared furiously at him. "You can't kill Master Cross and you better leave Allen alone, Daddy! If you hurt him, I'll hate you forever!"

Tyki pouted. He took Claire's hand and led her over to the cart the twins had used to get there. While Tyki, Claire, and David climbed into the actual seat of the cart, Jasdero got stuck pulling the actual cart. "Please don't say that, Claire. Daddy is just doing what he has to." He pulled Claire into his lap and hugged the annoyed little girl.

Claire would've said something if it weren't for the fact that Jasdero hit a rather imposing figure. Claire peered over Tyki's shoulder. "I think you killed Skin, Jasdero."

Once they'd gotten Skin into the cart, the odd group continued on their way. "I hear the Earl and Road are already waiting for us." Skin said stoically.

David snarled at Skin who was crowding him. "What are you doing here? Have you taken care of your General?"

Skin shook his head, but his face remained impassive. "The general with glasses has fled here. I am simply tightening the noose."

"Where are we anyways?" Claire asked, realizing for the first time she had know idea where they were.

"Japan." Tyki answered. He was glad that Claire hadn't moved from her spot in his lap. "It must mean that the Ark is ready."

* * *

Claire clung tightly to Tyki's hand as they walked through the gloomy hallway. She didn't like this place one bit.

"Do you recognize this place, Claire?" The Earl asked, noticing the little girl looking around. He chuckled when all he received was a glare from the little girl. "Sadly, we must abandon this ark for a new one." He turned to the four Noah and smiled. "By the way, since you're all here, I assume you've all finished your assignments."

Claire giggled at the terrified looks on all their faces. "Hey, where's Road?"

"She's busy right now, Claire darling." The Earl cooed, momentarily turning his attention away from Tyki and the others. "If I let you come with us, do you promise to be a good girl and not try and run off?"

Claire snarled at The Earl. She debated on telling him off, but caught herself. Perhaps this would be her chance to escape. If they were all distracted, she could easily slip away and try to find her way home, or maybe even find Cross. "Yes sir."

The Earl leapt down from his perch and patted Claire's head. "You're such a good girl. Now then, let's be off!"

Claire had no idea what was going on. One moment, they'd been on the ark and the next they were standing on top of a giant castle in Edo. She peered over the edge of the castle roof and gasped. There were so many Akuma! There was no way she'd ever be able to escape, not with that many Akuma present.

Tyki rested a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Claire, just accept it. You're home now. You're where you belong." He glanced over at one of the Akuma hovering in the air. "You, take the ark and go to China."

The Earl let out a wicked cackle. "Go forth, my Akuma! Slaughter the Exorcist Generals!"

Claire flinched and moved away from the edge of the roof. She looked up when she heard a strange hissing noise, only to see a giant fire snake heading straight for them. She barely had time to activate her wings and fly away before the roof was engulfed in flames. "Oh, the Earl got eaten."

"You shouldn't sound happy about that!" Tyki shouted at his hovering daughter. Three Akuma caught Tyki, Skin, and the twins. "Are you okay, Claire?"

Claire nodded slowly. She was disappointed when the Earl burst through the fire snake.

The Earl smirked wickedly. "That attack wasn't strong enough to be a generals. Come out, you pesky little Exorcists!"

Claire immediately perked up. She looked over where the attack had come from and her eyes lit up. She wanted to scream out to the familiar faces, but she could feel herself choking up. Tears were brimming in her eyes and she finally managed to choke out one name. "Lenalee!"

Lenalee, Lavi, Miranda, and Krory all perked up at the familiar sounding voice. "Claire!" Lenalee cried out, tears welling in her own eyes. She'd been so worried about the little girl ever since she'd disappeared. "Claire, are you okay?"

"No ma'am." Tyki said, grabbing his daughter before she could fly off towards the Exorcist. "You aren't going anywhere."

Lavi snarled and lunged forward with Krory close behind him. "Get your filthy hands off of her!"

"Lavi!" Claire let out a yelp when Tyki roughly shoved her aside so he could lunge at Lavi and Krory. She tried to get to Lenalee, but Skin held her back. Claire struggled in vain against Skin's strong grasp. She was so close to Lenalee in the others, so close to her family. "Leave Lavi alone, Daddy!" She instantly regreted letting the word slip out. She could see the shocked looks on all the Exorcists' faces.

Tyki shot a triumphant look over at the shocked Lavi. "Surprised? Why else do you think she's still alive?"

"Give her back!" Lenalee screamed. "Give Claire back to us!"

Lavi twirled his hammer in his hand. "You heard her; give the kid back. I really could care less if your her dad or whatever. It's pretty obvious she wants nothing to do with you freaks."

Tyki frowned, but quickly put back on his trademark smirk. "I'll make a deal with you; if you can last until Allen Walker gets here, you can take Claire with you."

Lenalee looked over at Claire. "Allen is alive?"

Claire nodded excitedly. "Yes!"

Lenalee rushed over to Lavi's side, ready to fight Tyki. "Hang on, Claire. We'll beat him and then, we'll take you home where you belong."


	28. Allen

**Sakura02: No one is allowed to torture Claire except for Kandakins! **

**erica. phoenix16: Claire has developed a bit of Stockholm syndrome towards the Noah, but she hasn't been with them so long that she's forgotten the love she feels for the people at the Order. I think an especially big factor is Allen in what side she'll ultimately choose.**

**Thanks: Gold Phantom, Live-Laugh-Love-Till-The-End, Shaybo27, bored411, HikariNoTenshi-San, Masked Bard of Chaos, kawaiipandaz, Alice Nyte, Monkey Girl 13624, and SaiyukiSucker for reviewing!**

* * *

"What's wrong, Allen?" Lo Fwa asked the sullen Exorcist curiously. "You've just been staring off into space for the past ten minutes." She explained when Allen looked startled.

Allen plastered a quick smile to his face. "It's nothing."

"You're thinking about that little girl again." Fo snapped irritably. Allen had abruptly cut off their training an hour ago and had been sulking ever since. "You're not going to do her any good until you get your Innocence back."

Allen's smile fell away. He thought back to the last time he'd seen Claire. She'd been crying and she was hurt. She had looked so scared in that Noah's hold. He hadn't been able to do anything for her. He hadn't been able to save her. He grit his teeth, Claire's voice desperately crying out his name bouncing around in his mind. For all he knew, the Noah had killed her. Fo had said that Claire was nowhere to be found when she found him on death's doorstep. He didn't believe she was dead, though. The Noah wouldn't have bothered taking her body if she was dead. He would've left her just like he'd left Allen.

Fo kicked him in the head. "Quit sulking! If you want to get your Innocence back and find that little girl, you better get over here and keep training!"

Allen nodded slowly. "Right…" _Wait for me, Claire. I'll come find you. Just be strong for a little longer._

* * *

"Claire, stop. That hurts." Skin grouched out, holding the flailing little girl by the collar of her dress and away from him. He looked down at his arm that had been holding Claire only to find angry bite marks all over it. "Why would you bite me?"

"Because you won't let me go!" Claire shouted angrily. "Let me go right now, Skin!"

Skin shook his head. "No. You'll leave if I let you go."

"Exactly!" Claire thrashed about even more, though she didn't use her feathers on Skin. She didn't want to completely hurt the Noah. "I want to go home with my family!"

"We're your family too." Skin said, almost sounding sad.

Claire hesitated for a moment. She looked sadly down at Skin. "Allen is my family. The Black Order is my family. You guys aren't my family. You're the ones that hurt my family." She brought her wings back to attack, but was stopped by someone else grabbing hold of her. She looked over her shoulder to find the Millennium Earl holding her.

The Millennium Earl tsked at her and sighed. "That's a cruel thing to say, Claire. What if your father had heard you say such a horrible thing?"

Claire didn't say anything. Her wings were pinned to her side and she couldn't do anything. She looked up suddenly when she heard an annoyingly familiar voice. "Stupid Kanda, what are you doing here?"

Kanda whipped around at the sound of Claire's voice. He smirked wickedly over at her. "How pathetic. You got captured, Damn Chibi Chibi?"

"Shut up!" Claire shouted, blushing angrily. She yelped when the Earl suddenly threw her. She grunted and looked up to see who caught her. "Daddy!"

Tyki held Claire close. "Are you okay, Claire?"

"Did you really mean it?" She asked, ignoring his question. "Is Allen really alive? If they all stay alive until he gets here, I can go back with them, right? You'll keep your promise?"

Tyki didn't say anything for a moment. He did his best to keep Claire's back to the battle, despite her best efforts to try and see it. He knew she was trying to see if the other Exorcist were okay. He had known the moment they had found out Allen was alive that he had lost her. He knew that whatever love she held for him was dwarfed in comparison to the love she felt for Allen. He smiled sadly down at Claire and kissed her forehead. "I always keep my word."

Claire smiled brightly. She was about to speak when there was suddenly a loud explosion. She buried her face in Tyki's chest and screamed. When she opened her eyes, she was horrified to discover that the Earl had completely leveled Edo. "Lenalee! Lavi! Miranda! Krory! Stupid Kanda!"

Kanda groaned and glared up at the little girl. "I swear I'm going to cut her wings off…"

_Claire…_

Claire perked up and looked around. She'd just heard Lenalee's voice in her head. Looking around on the ground, she was relieved to see the others were still alive. When she didn't see Lenalee anywhere, she began to panic. She noticed a large crystal for the first time. "What is that?"

_Claire…Kanda…Lavi…I'm in here! Help me!_

"Lenalee!" Claire shouted.

Tyki squeezed Claire close to him. "What a strange Innocence that young girl has." He let Claire go abruptly. "Stay put, Claire. Don't do something you'll regret."

Claire hovered in the air for a moment. She watched Lavi and Skin fighting while Tyki fought with Kanda. She flew over to the crystal and could just make out a handprint on the inside of the crystal. "Hang on, Lenalee! I'll find a way to get you out!"

"Move, Claire." The Earl swatted Claire away from the crystal and began attacking it.

"No! Leave Lenalee alone!" Claire shouted angrily. She was about to charge at the Earl when there was a sudden and blinding light. She had to shield her eyes and for a moment, she couldn't see anything. When she was able to see again, it took her a moment to process what she was seeing. She almost didn't recognize him. Tears poured down her cheeks and she immediately began flying forward. "Allen! Allen, it's you!"

Allen briefly took his eyes of the Earl. Though he wasn't crying, relief washed over his face. "Claire!"

Claire was so close. She would soon be able to reach out and touch Allen. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past her and everything went black. When she opened her eyes again, she was in Tyki's lap. Tyki and Skin were both being dragged across the ground by the Earl. It took her a moment to realize that Allen was nowhere in sight. Angrily, she glared up at Tyki. "You promised! You promised I could go back with Allen! You lied to me!"

Tyki sighed and took a drag from his cigarette. "Earl, I did promise her she could go back with them."

"That's nice." The Earl said. "I didn't."

Claire felt tears of frustration pouring down her cheeks. She'd been so close to Allen. If only she'd been a little faster. "I hate you." She hissed.

Even though Tyki wasn't sure she had meant it for him, it still stung. He didn't say anything and simply held his sobbing daughter in his lap.

Road slid down the Earl's back and tilted Claire's face up. She kissed the little girl's forehead. "Don't be so sad, Claire. You'll get to see all of them soon enough."


	29. Reunited

**Gahhh! I've been so bad about updating these past few months! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for being a horrible author!**

**Sakura02: True story. Millennium Earl is just not a nice person.**

**SaiyukiSucker: Claire will get to see everyone :)**

**Thanks: BANEHiwatari, sammi117, HikariNoTenshi-San, bored411, Gold Phantom, Shaybo27, erica. phoneix16, Masked Bard of Chaos, Live-Laugh-Love-Till-The-End, BLACK SUMMERSUNS 88, 4Evr. –A.-fAIlUrE, and kitty kitty love for reviewing!**

* * *

"Daddy, where are we going?" Claire asked cautiously. She was walking with Tyki in his white form to an unknown destination. She'd been rather shocked when he'd changed into the card shark from the train, and had yelled at him for a good fifteen minutes for lying to her again.

Tyki was silent, moving the cigarette in his mouth from one side to the other. "I told you I always keep my promises, Claire."

Claire blinked. "I don't understand…" She blinked as Tyki suddenly opened a door and a blinding light burned her eyes. When she was able to open them, she recognized the Ark. Only now, the city was crumbling. She could hear angry and familiar voices shouting up ahead. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Tyki. "Daddy…?"

Tyki knelt down in front of Claire. He stroked her cheek for a few moments before kissing her forehead and hugging her to him. "You'll come back to me someday; I know you will." He stood up and walked on ahead, leaving a confused Claire behind.

By the time Claire blinked out of her stupor and ran after him, he was already back in his Noah form and talking to someone. Claire came up behind him and peered around him. When she saw who it was, she immediately began crying. "Allen!"

Allen barely had time to catch Claire as she flung herself at him. He held her in his arms, trying to process the fact that he had Claire back, and that she was safe. He hugged her close and kissed her blonde hair. "Claire, you're okay!"

Tyki smiled sadly at his crying daughter. "Is this what you really want, Claire?"

Claire sniffled and wiped her tears away. She tried to ignore the shocked look on Allen's face. "I told you; Allen is my family. You and the other Noah are Allen's enemies, so you're my enemy too." Her voice began wavering towards the end when she saw the brief flash of hurt on Tyki's face.

"I see…" Tyki composed himself and held a small key up. "Well, if you all want to get out of this ark alive, you'll have to get to the highest point in the ark to find Road's door. If you can do that, we'll let you escape. You'd better hurry, though. You don't have much time left."

"Daddy!" Claire cried in alarm when a tower suddenly collapsed on him.

"Daddy?" Kanda and Allen both asked in unison.

Tyki chuckled, slipping through the fallen tower and beginning to walk away. "That's right; Claire is my daughter. The only reason I'm giving her back to you, is because I made a promise to her. I'm not worried, though. I'll get her back soon enough when you all fail." With that, he disappeared.

Claire immediately threw her arms around Allen's neck and hugged him tightly. "I missed you so much, Allen. I cried everyday because I thought you were dead. I'm sorry I couldn't stop him from hurting you."

Allen held the crying girl close to him. He was still processing the fact that Claire's father was a Noah. He worried about how the others at the Black Order would react to that little tidbit of information. He was brought back to reality by Claire's grip on him tightening. "Don't cry, Claire. You have nothing to be sorry for. I should've been the one to protect you. I missed you too."

"This is disgustingly sweet and everything, but I think we need to focus on more important things." Kanda clipped just as another mass of buildings collapsed around them.

The group managed to escape to a more stable part of the ark and took a moment to catch their breath. Claire looked nervously at all the other Exorcist. Allen had seemed to accept and forgive that her father was a Noah, but she wasn't sure about the others.

Lenalee was the first to step forward. She scooped Claire up and snuggled her for a moment. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

Claire grinned and kissed Lenalee's cheek. "I missed you too, Lenalee."

Lavi grinned and ruffled Claire's hair. "Don't worry about him being your dad, Claire Bear. You're cute enough that we can forgive you for that."

Claire gave Lavi a smile before turning her attention to Kanda. She grinned wickedly over at him. "Hi, Yu." She sang.

Kanda glared hatefully over at Lavi. "I'm going to skin you alive." He hissed.

Lenalee handed Claire back to Allen while she tried to stop Kanda from killing Lavi. Claire smiled and snuggled back against Allen. She played with his hair for a moment before looking up at him. "Allen, remember when we were fighting Suman, and I told him that growing up without a daddy was the worst thing for a little girl, and then you said that you didn't want another little girl to be hurt like I was?"

Allen blinked and nodded slowly. "Yes…" He was surprised Claire remembered that at all.

Claire leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I just wanted you to know that, even though I didn't get to have a daddy growing up, having you and Master Cross as my family was enough for me. I was always really happy growing up, and I never really felt sad about not having a daddy. I'm glad you found me and that you're my family. I don't need a daddy as long as I've got you."

Allen was silent for a moment before hugging Claire even more tightly than before. He kissed both of Claire's cheeks. "I'm glad I found you too, Claire."

Claire grinned up at Allen. She looked over at Krory and waved at him. "Hi Krory. Who's your new friend?" She asked, motioning to the boy that had been relatively quiet.

"This is Chaoji." Krory said. "He was a sailor on Anita's ship."

Claire's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh yeah! I didn't see Anita with all of you! Where is she?" Her smile faltered when no one answered. "What happened to Anita?"

"She died when we were attacked by the Akuma." Lavi said quietly.

"We don't have time for crying." Kanda snapped when Claire began sniffling. "Let's just use that damn key on a door and get out of here."

Lenalee smacked him upside the head. "Don't be so cold, Kanda."

Claire quickly wiped her tears away. "No, Stupid Kanda is right. We need to get out of here."

Allen walked over to a door with Claire still in his arms. "What about this one?" When he received an affirmative nod from the group, he stuck the key into the door. He jumped back when the plain door suddenly became very colorful with a giant painting of a butterfly and a sun decorating it. "Wow." He smiled down at Claire and hugged her again. "You ready to get out of here?" He asked, holding out his hand for the others.

Claire grinned and put her tiny hand on top of his. "Yes. I want to go home."

Lavi put his hand on top of Claire's, then Lenalee, Krory, and Chaoji followed suit. They all looked expectantly over to Kanda and received a hiss for their efforts. "That's not happening."

Claire rolled her eyes as Kanda opened the door. "Stupid Kanda wasn't hugged enough as a child. That's why he's all cranky and evil."

Kanda glared wickedly over at her. "You must really want to die, Damn Chibi Chibi."

Lenalee sighed. "Kanda, leave Claire alone. Honestly, you two fight every time you're together."

Claire stuck her tongue out at Kanda's back and snuggled back into Allen's side. She blinked in surprise as soon as they stepped through the door. "We're outside…" She perked up when she suddenly felt a presence. Her eyes widened when she saw the Noah standing a few yards away from them. "Skin!"

Kanda twitched in annoyance. "All of you, go on ahead. I'm going to kill this thing. I've encountered it before when it came after my general."

"We can't leave you alone, Kanda!" Lenalee protested.

Kanda rolled his eyes. "I'm not doing this for any of you. It's after my general, so it's my duty to cut it down." He glanced over his shoulder at Claire's nervous face. "Besides, the Damn Chibi Chibi will get upset seeing this. I really can't stand her crying."

Allen and the others looked at him in shock. "Wow, Kanda, I didn't know you cared about Claire so much!" Allen exclaimed.

Kanda bristled. "That's not what I meant! It's loud and annoying when she cries and I don't feel like dealing with it!" He huffed and turned away to hide his red face. "Damn Moyashi…"

Claire looked at Kanda curiously. She jumped out of Allen's arms and walked over to Kanda. She tugged on his jacket until he looked down at her. When he did, she gave him a small smile. "Be careful, Stupid Kanda."

Kanda scoffed and yanked his jacket from her grasp. "Get out of here now, Damn Chibi Chibi before you see something you don't like."

Allen scooped Claire back up just as an earthquake rocked the entire area. "We're still on the ark?"

"This room hasn't transferred to the new ark yet. Once it has, this room will disappear as well."

Claire looked up, noticing the pumpkin umbrella for the first time. "I didn't know you were here, Lero. I guess The Earl doesn't care if you die or not." She blinked as Allen suddenly put her down.

"I'll stay and fight with Kanda!" Allen declared.

Claire puffed her cheeks up. "If Allen's staying, then so am I!"

"You think I'll let either of you fight at my side?" Kanda hissed, pointing Mugen threateningly in Allen's face. Now, all of you get out of my sight. If you don't, I'll kill you before I kill him." I sent an attack after the group just to prove his point.

While the boys began walking off in a huff, Lenalee lingered back. "Kanda, you'll follow right after us, right?"

Claire glared over at Kanda when he didn't answer Lenalee. "Stupid Kanda, you better answer her!" She screamed.

Kanda rolled his eyes. "Fine…"

"You're leaving, Claire?" Skin finally spoke up, looking at the little girl curiously.

Claire looked down guiltily. "Yes. I told all of you; Allen is my family. We're getting out of here and I'm going home."

"Oh…" Skin said. "Bye then, Claire."

Claire latched onto Lenalee's hand as the older girl began walking away. "Bye, Skin…" She allowed Lenalee to drag her over to where the boys had already found another door to use the key on. Claire glanced over her shoulder one more time and Kanda and Skin. "Don't die…"


	30. The Library

**Sorry I've been gone so long everyone! Been going through a lot these past few months. On the plus side, I did finish the fourth draft of my novel! Two more drafts before I start sending it out to agents. So excited!**

**Sakura02: Now I just picture Claire and Kanda attacking each other with cactuses…**

**Vani Parfait: Yes, Cross and the Fourteenth are coming up soonish. **

**erica. phoenix16: You'll have to wait to see how they keep Claire's paternity a secret…if at all :)**

**Thanks: sammi117, bored411, Gold Phantom, HikariNoTenshi-San, Masked Bard of Chaos, SaiyukiSucker, Sleepyreader319, Live-Laugh-Love-Till-The-End, and Mad hatter girl122 for reviewing!**

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Claire went completely still, her grip on Allen's hand going slack. She looked over her shoulder at where they had come, her eyes wide and tears already spilling over and down her cheeks.

Allen stopped walking when he felt Claire stop. He turned around and looked at her. "Claire, what's wrong?" He was surprised when she turned to him and he saw her crying. "Claire?"

The others turned around when they heard Allen talking to Claire. Lenalee was the first to reach Claire. "What's wrong, Claire?"

Claire latched onto Lenalee and began sobbing. "Skin…Skin…Kanda…" She couldn't form the rest of her sentence. She allowed Allen to peel her away from Lenalee and carry her. Her heart was aching and she could barely breathe. She buried her face in Allen's neck as the group resumed walking. "I can't sense them anymore, Allen."

Allen rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay, Claire. Kanda won't die that easily."

"Skin's dead…" Claire choked out.

There was nothing Allen could say to that. He continued to hold Claire and rub her back soothingly. He glanced over his shoulder when he heard a strange noise. "Did you hear that?"

Claire lifted her head up and wiped her eyes. "Yes."

"What's wrong, Allen?" Krory asked curiously. The whole group had stopped and once again looked back to see what was going on.

Allen listened again for a moment. "It sounded like something was breaking…" His eyes widened as the ground beneath all of them suddenly began breaking. "Claire, fly!"

Claire immediately unfurled her wings and began flying while the rest of the group ran on the now crumbling ground. "Run faster, Allen, Lavi!" She was surprised when Krory was suddenly flying beside her with the rest of the group holding onto him for dear life. It took her a moment to realize he had drank some Akuma blood. "Go Krory! You're awesome!"

"Keep up, Claire!" Krory snarled out. The group flew through a window at the end of the hallway. Krory roughly dropped the rest of the group on the ground.

"Oh, we're in the library." Claire said, deactivating her wings and standing next to Allen. She immediately latched back onto his hand. As the group began walking around the library, Claire felt a shiver go through her.

The group looked up to see the twins sitting on top of the door in the library. "Who're those weirdoes?" Lavi muttered.

"That's David and Jasdero." Claire said before the twins could introduce themselves. "They're really loud and annoying."

"How could you be so cruel, Claire?" Jasdero whined. "After everything we've been through together."

"Never mind that now." David said, pointing his gun at Allen, with Jasdero quickly following suit. "Allen Walker, we don't have anything against you personally, but we've got a major grudge against your master! We're going to take it out on you!"

Allen quickly scooped Claire up and began dodging the bullets that were being shot at them. He had to put Claire down when Jasdero and David appeared on either side of him and shot at him.

"Leave Allen alone!" Claire shouted at the twins angrily. "It's not his fault you guys stink at catching Master Cross!"

Allen managed to remain relatively unscathed despite the close range he'd been shot at. "So, our master is still alive, Claire?" He managed to knock Jasdero and David away and into the large bookshelves.

"Yes." Claire answered, rushing to Allen's side. "Are you okay, Allen?"

"I'm fine." Allen assured the little girl. "Everyone, be careful with those bullets. They have special properties."

Jasdero cackled as he and David sat up. "This is fun. Hey, Disciple, do you think your master would come rescue you if we took you hostage?"

"No." Claire and Allen answered together with no hesitation. "If he didn't come to save Claire, you really think he's going to come save me?" Allen added, giving the twins a flat look.

David grinned. "Well, I guess we'll enjoy this little game then. You better hope your master taught you enough, Disciple."

"I told you guys to quit picking on Allen!" Claire screamed furiously as the twins first shot freezing bullets and then fire bullets at Allen. She activated her wings and quickly shot a barrage of feathers a the twins while Krory and Lavi shot the fire back towards the twins. "If you two hurt Allen, I'll beat you up!"

The twins easily made the fire disappear before it could hit them. "Shut up, Claire! Until we find Cross, we're going to make his disciple pay! We're going to make him pay the bill that Cross left us."

Claire blinked. "How much did he leave you guys with?"

"One hundred guineas!" Jasdero wailed, waiving the bill around in the air furiously. "We're going to make him pay for it!"

"Allen, get a hold of yourself!" Claire wailed as Allen began muttering to himself. She glared over at the twins. "Look what you did to my Allen!"

Allen suddenly shot up and glared at the twins. "That's it? Compared to what Cross left me with, that's chicken feed!"

The twins howled with laughter for a brief moment. They quickly sobered up. "Time to get serious!"

Claire cried out in alarm when she felt something stick over her eyes. She rubbed furiously at her face, but whatever it was wouldn't come off. "These are their trick glasses! We won't be able to see them now!"

"Why do you have to ruin all our fun, Claire?" Jasdero's voice whined from somewhere in the library.

The group quickly moved into a circle with their backs to each other, ready for an attack from any side. Claire blinked when she heard something clanking underneath her feet. She looked down and was surprised to see the floor completely covered in keys. "Allen, do you still have our key?"

Allen quickly felt around in his pockets and gasped. "I can't find it anywhere! I can't believe I was so careless!"

Lenalee gave him a small smile. "It's okay, Allen. Don't beat yourself up over this. We'll find a way out. I think all these keys on the floor are an illusion. There's only the one real key on the floor."

Claire tugged urgently on Allen's hand. "Allen, we're surrounded by eight big flame balls. What should we do?"

Allen grabbed Claire and curled protectively around her. The entire group managed to avoid getting hit by the fire except for Chaoji. Lenalee was the first to rush to Chaoji's side while Allen attempted to attack the invisible twins. Claire clung tightly to Lenalee. "What're we gonna do, Lenalee?"

Krory knelt down beside the two girls and held a finger to his lips. "Quiet, Claire. I'll find these brats."

Claire and Lenalee stayed beside the injured Chaoji while Krory threw Allen into a bookcase in an attempt to catch the twins. "Claire, are you doing okay?" Lenalee asked softly. She reached out and smoothed Claire's messed up hair down.

Claire's eyes remained focused solely on Allen as he continued to help Krory attack the twins. "I…I don't know. I think I am. I just…I just wanna go home." She, Lenalee, and Chaoji all looked up when Lavi suddenly leapt into the air on a high podium.

Lavi created a powerful wind that swept all the keys up into the air around him. Claire was so focused on what Lavi was doing that she almost didn't notice Lenalee running towards Allen and Krory who were being sucked in by a foul monster created by the twins.

"Lenalee!" Claire shouted. She ran after the teen girl and was only able to catch up to Lenalee due to her falling down. Claire knelt beside Lenalee. "Are you okay, Lenalee?"

"Move, legs!" Lenalee screamed furiously.

"Hey, Claire, you can't leave us." David said from close beside Claire.

Claire shuddered. She could feel David's hand on her shoulder, but she couldn't see him because of the trick glasses. "I'm going home with Allen and the others! You and Jasdero need to let us go right now!"

"Not happening." Jasdero sang, grabbing Lenalee and putting her into a floating bubble.

"Leave Lenalee alone!" Claire screamed, biting at David's hand on her shoulder. She received a harsh slap across the cheek for her defiance.

"You need a time out until you come to your senses." David hissed, throwing Claire into the bubble with Lenalee. "Now, why don't you watch your precious Allen get beat up by the Millennium Earl."

Claire looked up and was shocked to see that the Earl was indeed there and fighting Allen. She snarled and beat her fist furiously against the side of the bubble along with Lenalee. "When I get out of here, I'm going to beat you two up real good for hurting everyone! I hate you both!"

Jasdero and David were quiet for a moment. Jasdero let out a small whimper, but David remained stoic. "That's fine, Claire."


	31. Leaving Another Behind

**erica. phoneix16: Yeah…I see the twins as being very petulant children. They're very hurt that Claire chose Allen and the Exorcist over them, so they're lashing out at her.  
Sakura02: Aw, don't hate them! They're just upset right now!**

**Thanks: bored411, Mad hatter girl122, Shaybo27, sammi117, Raychaell Dionzeros, HikariNoTenshi-San, SaiyukiSucker, Taeniaea, and Guest for reviewing!**

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"Let us out! Let us out right now!" Claire and Lenalee both screamed, kicking and punching at the walls of the bubble. Claire smirked in satisfaction when her foot connected with David's face through the bubble. "If Allen or any of my other friends get hurt, I'll never forgive you."

"So, you don't care if they hurt us?" David snapped out irritably, tearing his eyes briefly away from Allen and Krory fighting the fake Millennium Earl.

Claire stopped flailing about. She bit her lip. "I don't want anyone to get hurt. If you guys would just let us go home, we wouldn't have to fight you."

"You can't go with them!" David said, stomping his foot and startling Jasdero. "You belong to us, not them!"

"Claire doesn't belong to anyone, you selfish brat!" Lenalee shouted, punching in the direction she heard David's voice. She let in an inward squeal of delight when she realized she'd connected with his face. Her joy was short lived as her fury returned at what David had just said. "She's not an object! Claire is a little girl! If you really loved her, you'd want her to be where she's happiest. Instead, you talk about her as though she's a toy that another child took from you!"

David was ready to punch Lenalee. Suddenly, there was a blinding light behind him.

Claire blinked as the trick glasses disappeared from over her eyes. She could see Jasdero and David now. She looked over to see where the light was coming from. "The monument is the next doorway!" She watched the fake Millennium Earl get sucked through the doorway. She was so focused on the shining doorway, that she missed Allen and Krory flying forward.

"We can see you now!" Allen shouted, punching David in the face, while Krory punched Jasdero. "Lenalee, Claire, are you two okay?"

Claire nodded, grinning at Allen. "Why'd you punch David? You could've just used your Innocence."

Allen smiled over at the girls. "I wanted to give him a good hard punch for you and Lenalee. I'll get you both out of there, so just be patient a little longer."

Krory cracked his knuckles, ready for the next attack from the twins. "They're tricks are a pain, but they themselves are pretty weak. They're just a bunch of brats."

"You guys keep calling us brats and underestimating us." Jasdero and David said in unison as they stood up. "Now, we're really going to kill all of you."

Claire felt a shudder go through her. She'd never seen the twins so angry or serious before. She latched onto Allen as soon as he released her and Lenalee from the bubble. She hid behind Allen as the twins began singing a rather creepy song. Her eyes widened when the two shot each other. "David! Jasdero!"

"Their shadows are merging together!" Lenalee gasped out.

Claire looked at the two very still bodies of Jasdero and David standing a few feet away from them. Something wasn't right…

"Allen, get out of there! Look above you!" Lavi shouted from atop the doorway.

One moment, Krory was beside Claire, standing protectively over the little girl. The next, he was flying through the air, violently slamming into one of the many bookcases. "Krory!" Claire shouted, looking around for the source of the attack. She blinked as a person she'd never seen before landed just in front of Krory. She hugged Allen's hand tightly to her. "Who're you?"

"That's right; we never did show you this side of us." The strange person said. "We…that is David and Jasdero…started as one Noah. We are Jasdevi!"

"Claire, stay!" Allen shouted. He charged towards Jasdevi, but his attack was easily blocked. "You killed Krory!"

Jasdevi grinned wickedly. "That fake vampire needed to bleed a little. Now then, what should we do with you, Allen Walker? Oh, let's turn you into a bomb and blow up the next doorway!" A star appeared behind Allen, trapping the Exorcist in place.

"Don't you dare hurt Allen!" Claire yelled. She activated her Innocence and charged straight at Jasdevi. Before she could attack, Jasdevi reached out and grabbed her by the neck.

"You want to watch your precious Allen get killed?" Jasdevi mocked. "That's fine with us, Claire."

Claire was surprised to find that Jasdevi's grip on her neck was fairly loose. She could breathe easily enough, and she knew if she exerted enough force, Jasdevi would let her go. Just as she was pulling away from Jasdevi's grip, a hand shot out and broke the star trapping Allen. Claire yanked herself out of Jasdevi's slack grip and flew over to Allen, hugging the Exorcist tightly. She looked up and grinned. "Krory, you're okay!"

Krory glared at Jasdevi. "I am not a vampire! I am Arystar Krory!"

"Krory!" Claire leapt up as Krory wobbled on his feet. She gently grabbed the side of his jacket while Lavi supported him. "Are you okay, Krory? You got hurt really bad…"

"I'm fine." Krory said, placing a shaking hand on Claire's head. He looked over at Lavi. "How many flask do I have left?"

"Three." Lavi said, his gaze straying over to the open door. "We can't stay here much longer…"

"You aren't going anywhere!" Jasdevi shouted, launching an attack that sent Allen flying through the air. "You're all going to die here, and then we'll take Claire back!"

"I already said I'm not going back with you!" Claire shouted angrily. She pulled her wings back and sent a volley of sharp feathers at Jasdevi. Her attack was easily deflected. She was thrown into one of the bookshelves by another of Jasdevi's attacks. It took her a moment to regain her bearings. By the time she managed to pull herself together, Allen was scooping her up. "Allen?" She looked over and saw that Krory was managing to hold Jasdevi back, despite the multiple spikes Jasdevi was piercing Krory with.

"Hurry, all of you!" Krory shouted. "I can't hold him much longer!"

"Krory, no!" Claire yelled, struggling in Allen's grip. "Allen, we've got to help Krory! We can't leave him behind!"

"Claire, you have to have faith in Krory like you did in Kanda." Allen told the little girl. He ran as fast as he could towards the doorway, Lenalee and the others just ahead of him.

Claire reached out to Krory. "Krory, you have to hurry and catch up, okay? We've all got to go home together!" She didn't hear if Krory answered her. Allen fell through the doorway with her, and the library disappeared.

"We have to go back!" Lenalee shouted, trying to make her way towards the still open doorway. They were all floating in a strange dark abyss, the only light coming from the doorway they'd just come through. She struggled against Allen's grip as he put Claire down and held Lenalee's arms. "We can't leave him! He was hurt really bad! We can't leave another person behind!"

Claire couldn't help crying. She was already certain Skin and Kanda were both dead. They'd just left Krory all alone with Jasdevi. Now, Lenalee was screaming and crying. "Krory!" Claire wailed.

Allen grabbed Lenalee's face gently between his hands. "Hey, it's all right! We're all going to go home together, I promise. Krory and Kanda knew exactly what they were doing. I haven't given up on them yet. I will do everything in my power to make sure we all go home together." He gave Lenalee a soft smile when she finally stopped crying. "This isn't like you, Lenalee. You're supposed to be the big sister."

Lenalee blinked the remainder of her tears away while Lavi and Chaoji gave Allen a hard time. She looked down and saw Claire was still crying. She smiled softly and picked the little girl up. She kissed both of Claire's cheeks. "Don't cry, Claire. I'm sorry if I upset you. I was being such a bad big sister."

Claire sniffled and hugged Lenalee. "You're the best big sister in the whole wide world, Lenalee! Krory and Stupid Kanda are going to be okay. We're all going to go home together, right?"

Lenalee smiled and nodded her head. "That's right. We just have to have faith in them."


	32. Dinner with the Noah

**Sakura02: Lol, she has a very scary daddy…**

**Thanks: DR34DNOISE, Raychaell Dionzeros, erica. phoenix16, bored411, Blackangelwings853, SaiyukiSucker, Halley Vanaria, and BLACK SUMMERSUNS 88 for reviewing.**

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"Hey, how you doing, Claire Bear?" Lavi asked, adjusting the little girl on his back. He didn't know how long they'd been walking, but he was exhausted.

Claire lifted her head up from Lavi's shoulder. "I'm okay. I'm just tired." She rested her head back on his shoulder. "When we get home, I want to take a long nap."

Lavi chuckled. "I'm with you on that one." He glanced over at Allen. "What about you, Allen?"

Allen took a deep breath, pausing in leading Lenalee up the stairs. "I'm going to eat everything that Jerry can cook!"

Chaoji burst out laughing. When he saw that everyone was looking at him curiously, he took a deep breath. "Sorry, it's just that…you Exorcist are so…so normal! I thought Apostles of God would be different. I didn't think you'd tell jokes, or laugh, or be afraid, or any of that stuff."

Allen smiled at Chaoji. He could tell the poor boy was scared out of his wits. "If we can just get past whatever's up these stairs, I know we'll make it home. It's like I always tell Claire; when you're afraid, you just need to think of happy things."

"We aren't out of the woods yet." Lero suddenly shouted. "Anything could happen!"

"Shut up, Lero." Claire said, sticking her tongue out at the umbrella.

Allen took Claire from Lavi's back. "All I want, is for us to be reunited with our friends again. No matter how hopeless things may seem, I refuse to give up." He put Claire down on the ground and took her hand. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand gently. "You ready, Claire?"

"Yes." Claire answered. "I'm ready to go home." The group took the final step and went into the bright light at the top of the stairs. Claire was ready for almost any attack waiting for them, except for the one they received.

"Allen!" Road squealed, pouncing on the unsuspecting Exorcist. She gave him a tight squeeze before moving on to Claire. "My sweet little Claire! I've missed you so much!"

"Road, what're you doing here?" Claire exclaimed, hugging the Noah back on instinct more than anything. She blinked when Road suddenly released her and planted a kiss on Allen's lips. "Road, get off of Allen!"

"Allen, hang in there!" Lavi said, shaking the shell shocked exorcist.

Tyki blinked, unsure of what to make of scene playing out in front of him. "What are you doing, Road? Do you really like him that much?" He gave Claire a small smile. "How are you doing, my sweet girl?"

Claire puffed her cheeks out. "I'm mad at you. Don't talk to me."

"Stubborn as ever." Tyki sighed, already beginning to eat.

For the first time, Claire noticed that the large dining table in front of them was completely covered in food. "How do we get out of here?"

Tyki waved his hand dismissively. "Sit down and eat. It'll give us a chance to talk before we get down to business."

Allen frowned, pulling Claire closer to his side. "No thanks. I prefer to eat when I have time to enjoy it."

Road giggled gleefully and clapped her hands together. "Speaking of time, you should all really look outside. There's only about an hour left before this whole place disappears."

Claire ran over to the window and gasped. There was nothing left save for the large tower that they were now in. She held back a sob, trying her best not to think of Kanda and Krory. She glared furiously over at where Road had just chained and locked the door so they couldn't leave. She turned her hateful look on Tyki.

Tyki did his best to ignore Claire. "Now, why don't all of you sit down. That is, unless you are afraid."

Allen snarled and plopped down in the chair farthest from Tyki. He didn't move a muscle as Claire and the others sat around him. None of them moved to eat the food in front of them.

"It's not poisoned." Tyki assured. "I promised you I wouldn't play dirty. Claire, you really need to eat. You need to keep your strength up."

"Don't worry." Road sang, latching onto Allen's neck. "There's a portal at the top of this tower."

"It better take us home." Claire grouched out, glaring angrily down the table at her father.

Allen reached out and placed a consoling hand on Claire's head. "What exactly is it that we need to talk about?"

"Don't be so nasty, Boy." Tyki sneered. "You're the first person to ever strip a Noah down to their underwear. Don't you think this means we're linked by fate?"

Allen rolled his eyes. "Hardly. I've stripped many men down to their underwear playing cards."

"That's a rather mean thing to say." Tyki grumbled.

"I'll show you mean." Allen snarled out, holding his Innocence. He smirked in satisfaction at the surprised look on Tyki's face.

Claire looked down the table at her father. "You seem interested in Innocence now, Daddy. It must be surprising since the last time you saw him was after you had those stupid Teez punctured his heart."

"What?" Lenalee and Lavi both shrieked in unison.

Allen glared over at Claire. "I hadn't told them about that."

Claire giggled nervously. "Oops. Sorry, Allen."

Tyki lit a cigarette and blew the smoke out thoughtfully. "I've learned something from all of this. In a fight to the death, you really must give it everything you've got."

Claire noticed the Teez fluttering on Lenalee's shoulder a moment too late for her to be of any help. She leaned forward and breathed a sigh of relief when Allen easily speared the Teez with his Innocence.

"If you hurt any of my friends again, Tyki, I will kill you." Allen hissed out. "Lenalee, I'll take care of him. Claire, you stay right here and protect Lenalee." He lunged forward and down the table towards Tyki.

Claire jumped up and moved protectively in front of Lenalee. She looked over where Road was blocking Lavi from helping Allen. Claire shifted nervously. She was furious at her father and Road, but she didn't know if she could really fight them. "Lenalee, what should I do?"

Lenalee wrapped her arms around Claire and kissed the side of her head. "It's going to be okay, Claire. It's going to be okay."


	33. Trapped

**TheCaramelSecrets: I promise you, I will never give up on any of my stories. I may take a long break sometimes, but I will never leave a story unfinished!  
Sakura02: You were very late in reviewing! It made Claire sad!**

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**Over 400 reviews! You guys are awesome!**

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Claire gasped as a strange transparent cube suddenly trapped her, Lenalee, and Chaoji inside. It took her a moment to realize it was a giant dice. Claire kicked and punched at the sides of the dice. "Let us out right now, Road!" She yelled, activating her Innocence and pulling her wings back.

Road wagged her finger at the little girl, briefly tearing her eyes away from Lavi. "I wouldn't do that, Claire. Your feathers will bounce right off and into you and your friends. I'd rather not see you as a pin cushion."

"It's okay, Claire." Lavi said, pulling out his hammer. "I'll deal with her and then get you guys out. Just be patient."

Claire bit her lip and nodded. She watched in horror as Lavi suddenly collapsed to the ground. "Lavi!" She glared furiously over at the Noah girl, and slammed her hand angrily against the wall of the giant dice. "What'd you do to him, Road? I won't forgive you if you hurt him!"

Road skipped over to the dice. She placed her hand on the dice right where Claire's was on the other side. Her hand slipped through the wall of the dice. She held Claire's hand and pulled the little girl through the dice. Road hugged Claire close to her. "Now's your chance to kill me, Claire. I won't stop you. I love you so much, little Claire. I could never really hurt you."

"You hurt me when you tried to kill Miranda." Claire pointed out, though she made no move to pull away from Road.

"I'm so sorry about that." Road said, sounding genuinely sincere. She stroked Claire's long blonde hair and sighed. "You didn't know about us then…you didn't love us like you do now. You do love us, don't you, Claire?"

Claire clenched her fist angrily at her side. It would be so easy for her to attack Road right now. She thought back to how Road had caught her when the Akuma had broken her wing, how Road would snuggle with her when she couldn't fall asleep, and how Road had always gotten the twins to leave her alone.

Road smirked triumphantly at Lenalee when Claire sagged against her. "See? You do love us. We can be a family, Claire. You'll have your daddy, and we can play together every day."

"I do love you." Claire confessed softly. "I love you, Road. I love Daddy, Jasdero, David…but…" She flapped her wings as hard as she could. Road's grip on her slackened and she managed to fly out of Road's arms. Claire landed back beside the dice. "I love Allen, and everyone at the Black Order too! Fix Lavi and let Lenalee and Chaoji out!"

Road smiled softly. It was the first time Claire had ever said she loved any of them. It made Road happy to hear those words. "Sorry, Claire. I can't do that. You won't fight me, and I won't fight you. I suppose all that's left to do is for us to wait and see how Tyki and Allen's fight ends. You really ought to move out of the way, Claire."

Claire flew up in the air just seconds before Allen slammed roughly into the side of dice. She immediately landed beside him, and rested her hands on his Innocence arm. "Allen! Allen, are you okay?"

Tyki began walking forward. "My, that attack didn't destroy you? It seems you've gotten stronger since the last time we fought. Claire, I must ask you to move out of the way."

"Allen, please wake up." Claire whispered, shaking Allen's arm when she got no answer. She turned her furious emerald eyes on Tyki, tears welling at the corner of them. "Get away from Allen! Don't you dare hurt him again!"

"Tyki," Road called from her perch on Lero. "Claire said she loved us. Don't you spoil that now, and don't ruin my Allen."

Tyki paused for a brief moment. He stared at Claire's furious face, and couldn't help thinking about how she looked just like her mother had when she'd found out Tyki was really a Noah. Everything Claire did, reminded Tyki of her mother. He sighed and continued walking forward. "Sorry…"

Claire blinked when Allen's hand rested gently on her shoulder. This was the first time she'd seen his newly activated Innocence up close. She looked up and smiled in relief when she saw his eyes were open. "Allen…"

Allen smiled down at her. "I won't leave you again, Claire." His hand slipped from her shoulder, and he glared over at Tyki. "Do you think I'd run away from you fiends and your darkness?" He suddenly began violently coughing up blood.

"Don't fight anymore, Allen!" Claire cried, hugging Allen around his waist. "If Daddy destroys your Innocence again…he can't do that without hurting you because you're a parasite type…"

Allen gently pulled Claire off of him. "I'll be all right." He looked back over at Tyki. "You don't understand Exorcist, Tyki Mikk. You think we're like normal humans, and that we're harmless if you destroy our Anti-Akuma weapons. What you should really fear, is the human in us. Innocence provides the power, but it's an Exorcists human heart that makes him deadly."

Claire took a surprised step back when Allen's Innocence began to glow. She'd never seen it do that before. She looked over at Tyki, and saw that he too was rather surprised about the turn of events.

"As long as my heart is bound to this Innocence," Allen said, not noticing how everyone was staring at his arm in shock. "as long as my body remains intact…as long as what I care about is in this world…the Crown Clown will not be broken!"

"Daddy?" Claire called softly. She grew more and more worried with each second that her father remained perfectly still. Her worry was soon replaced with fear as Tyki began laughing hysterically.

"Now I see." Tyki muttered to himself, holding his head in his hand. "If I want to destroy your Innocence, I have to kill your flesh!"

"Oh no." Road lunged forward and quickly scooped Claire up in her arms. She ignored Claire's protest and struggling. Road flew high up in the air, bringing the dice containing Lenalee and Chaoji, and Lavi in his own container with her. "Tyki is really mad now."

"What's going on, Road?" Claire asked in alarm. A large sphere of wind suddenly engulfed Allen, and then he and Tyki crashed through the tower wall. "Where's Allen and Daddy?"

"Allen's in there." Road said, holding Claire close to her. "Tyki is the 'pleasure' of the Noah. He can touch anything that's of this world. I think Tyki has created a vacuum to repel the air around them. If he keeps it up, Allen will suffocate."

"I have to stop Daddy!" Claire shouted, struggling against Road. "I can't let him kill Allen."

Road hugged Claire. "There's nothing you can do right now. Tyki is really mad, and he might even attack you."

Claire bit her lip. She'd finally gotten to be with Allen again, and now he might be taken away from her. "Daddy…please stop…please stop hurting Allen."


	34. The Tide Turns

**Sakura02: Not yet! That's one or two more chapters away!  
Authoresses of the Red Rose: There will be flashbacks later on that shows more of Claire's time with Cross.**

**Thank you: bored411, Halley Vanaria, Raychaell Dionzeros, PassionandPromise, erica. phoneix16, GreenDrkness, and The Black Guard for reviewing!**

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Claire looked over at the large dice where Lenalee and Chaoji were trapped. She couldn't move. She was trapped by Road's arms and the shock of everything that was happening. She didn't want Allen to die. She didn't want to lose him. She looked up at the sound of Lenalee screaming and kicking furiously at the sides of the dice. "Lenalee, stop! Your legs…"

"That won't do you any good." Road said casually. She pulled Claire closer to her. "You can't even activate your Innocence. You're useless."

"You'll cripple yourself if you keep that up!" Chaoji said, trying to pull Lenalee away from the side.

Lenalee clenched her fist at her side, fury and frustration clear on her face. "I'm still an Exorcist. I exist to fight."

Claire began struggling anew in Road's arms. She managed to activate her Innocence and expand her wings, forcing Road to release her. Claire and Road stared each other down. Claire's wings were pulled back so they were completely taunt, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

Road sighed sadly and stood up on Lero. "I really don't want to fight you, Claire. I won't kill you, but I'll make sure that you will never attack me or the rest of your family again. Now, put that disgusting Innocence away and come here." She held her arms out welcomingly to Claire.

Claire hovered in the air for a few minutes without saying anything. She looked over at the exhausted Lenalee, the frightened Chaoji, and finally at Lavi who was still trapped in Road's dream world. "If you let them all go, I'll go with you and Daddy. Please, just let Allen and everyone else go."

Road hummed thoughtfully. "I'll let the stupid human go, but not the Exorcists or the Bookman. They're our enemies. Do you really think that you'll be safe if you go back to the Black Order? Your friends may not care that your dad is a Noah, but what about the generals and the others? They'll kill you, Claire. The only safe place for you is with us."

Lenalee could see the fear and uncertainty on Claire's face. She banged against the side of the dice. "Claire, do you really think Komui and the others would ever let anything happen to you? We all love you, Claire. We're your family, and we'll protect you!"

The giant sphere of air containing Tyki and Allen was suddenly split open. Claire whipped around as a sudden cold wave of fear slammed into her. She looked down and saw the uncertain look on Tyki's face. Then, she looked over at Allen and saw what it was that had caused her to be so afraid. Allen was once again missing his Innocence arm. In his human hand, was a large sword that Claire had never seen before. Something about that sword frightened Claire more than anything else. "Allen.."

Claire couldn't help the scream that tore from her throat. She hovered in the air, trying to process what she had just seen. Allen had cut clean through Tyki with the sword. She'd never seen Allen do something so cold before. She waited to see the blood, to see her father die in front of her. "Daddy!"

Tyki blinked and checked himself over. "It hurts…but I'm not cut…Is that some sort of illusion technique."

Allen stood a few feet away from Tyki, his face completely cold and devoid of any emotion. "No, it's no illusion. What I cut wasn't your flesh. I destroyed the Noah inside you. It kills the demon, but leaves the man alive. That is the power the Crown Clown and I possess."

Claire had to cover her ears to drown out the sounds of her father's pained screams. "Daddy…" She flew down to the ground, standing off to the side. She looked first at Tyki, and then over at Allen.

Tyki quickly held a hand up when Road rushed towards him. "It's all right, Road. Just…don't let Claire watch this."

Road reluctantly complied. She went over to Claire and covered her eyes.

"Claire, everything is going to be okay." Allen's voice reached Claire's ears, even though she couldn't see him. "You have to trust me."

Claire couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes. "Please don't kill my daddy, Allen."

"I won't." Allen promised. He stepped towards Tyki whom was on his knees shaking. "Give it up, Tyki Mikk!" He stabbed Tyki once again.

Tyki let out a choked cough. "Too bad, boy." He looked over at where Road was still covering Claire's eyes. He smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Road. I never wanted you to see something like this, Claire." He collapsed to the ground as soon as Allen pulled the sword out.

Claire didn't move, even after Road released her to run over to Tyki. She couldn't feel her legs. She tried to take a step forward, and collapsed to the ground. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "You said you wouldn't kill him, Allen."

"I didn't." Allen assured. He went over to Claire and knelt beside her. "I just removed the Noah from him. See? His stigmata have disappeared. He'll be okay."

Claire sniffled and buried her face in Allen's chest. She was too overwhelmed with everything that was happening. She didn't know what to do or what to think. She barely heard Chaoji's cheering, but she did hear his pain-filled screams. She looked up only to find that not only was the dice containing Chaoji and Lenalee surrounded by Road's wicked candles, but she and Allen were as well. "Road…"

"Don't move." Road said quietly. "My candles may not be able to kill Crown Clown, but they can kill your friends and pierce your flesh. I really like you, Allen, but family comes first. Don't you agree, Claire?"

"Road, please…" Claire pleaded. "Please don't hurt them."

"They hurt your father, yet you still want to protect them?" Road asked curiously. She glared over at Allen when he moved his foot. "I said don't move. I'm a little angry now. You don't want me to poke holes in your friends, do you? I'm going to make you pay, though, Allen. Lavi…his spirit…is inside of me. I'm going to puncture his heart."

"Road, don't!" Claire shouted. "Please just let us go. I'll stay with you if you'll just let everyone go! Daddy is going to be okay, and I'll stay so you don't have to hurt them!"

Road shook her head. "No, Claire. They hurt our family. They have to pay. You'll understand someday."


	35. Battling A Friend

**erica. phoenix16: Yes, Claire will eventually have to decide whose side she's on, but that won't be for a while.  
Sakura02: I can't help what happens to Lavi!**

**Thank you: bored411, The Black Guard, Halley Vanaria, Raychaell Dionzeros, zLol, TheCaramelSecrets, and GreenDrkness for your reviews!**

"Road, please…" Claire continued pleading, doing her best to ignore the sharp candles pointed at herself and her friends. "Please, just let them go…"

Road was no longer listening to Claire's desperate pleas. Her hateful gaze was focused solely on Allen. She smiled wickedly at him. "Your Lavi's heart just died. If you want to take Claire from us and save your friends, you'll have to kill Lavi."

Claire turned for the first time, and noticed that Lavi was now only standing a few feet away from her and Allen. She could tell something was wrong even before Lavi looked blankly up at him. She flew out of the way as Lavi charged them, grateful that Road had removed the candles. "Allen!"

"Try and help Chaoji and Lenalee!" Allen shouted, dodging another attack by Lavi. "I'll get Lavi back! I swear! Then, we're all going home!"

Claire was reluctant to leave Allen's side. She would've argued, but then she saw the determination in his eyes. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before flying up towards Lenalee and Chaoji. "Be careful." She called back softly to the battling Allen.

"Is Chaoji okay?" Claire asked worriedly.

Lenalee looked back at the wound on Chaoji's shoulder. It was still bleeding rather badly, and he was breathing heavily. "We need to get him out of here."

Claire nodded. She grabbed one of the candles, and began attempting to pull it out.

"Oh, Claire, you should know better." Road sighed out.

Claire yelped in pain and released her grip on the candle. She clutched her trembling hands to her chest and drew her knees up. The candle flame had flared up, badly burning her hands. Slowly, Claire held her hands up so she could see them. The palms of her hand were bright red and badly blistered. She quickly wiped away the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

"Now, Claire, sit still." Road chastised, still clutching Tyki close to her.

"Shut up, Road!" Claire finally snapped. She grabbed onto the candle again, ignoring the sharp pain radiating through her hands and up her arms. Allen was fighting so hard to save Lavi and the others. There was no way she was going to sit quietly by and do nothing. She did her best to ignore the increasing pain in her hands as the flames once again flared up.

"Claire, stop!" Lenalee shouted. She could see the pain etched on Claire's face. Her gaze shifted between Claire and then to Allen and Lavi fighting. "That's enough, Claire!"

Claire stubbornly shook his head. "I'm tired of everyone always protecting me! I want to protect you guys too!"

"I understand that more than you know, Claire." Lenalee placed her hand against the wall of the giant die. "You have to stop, though. You're hurting yourself."

Finally, Claire let go of the candle. The blisters had opened and were weeping. Claire held her hands close to her. The cool air against her injured hands stung. She looked down and saw Allen laying motionless on the ground. "Lavi, stop it! We're your friends! Don't hurt Allen!"

"Lavi's heart is dead, Claire." Road said quietly. "There's no point in trying to reach him."

In a last ditch effort to try and save Lavi, Allen flung his sword through Lavi and directly into Road. Road was shocked for a moment, but then began laughing gleefully. She pulled the sword out from her chest. "Did you already forget? Your attacks can't hurt me. If you don't know my true form, then you can't kill me, and you're not strong enough to change someone's heart."

"Allen!" Claire screamed as Allen was engulfed in Lavi's Fire Stamp. She flinched instinctively away from the fast approaching flames. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't being burned alive. She glanced down at Lavi, who seemed just as surprised by his attack's lack of killing power. "Lavi…"

"The candles are melting!" Lenalee exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, everyone." Lavi gasped out. "It was my lack of experience that caused all this. I'm going to end this, one way or the other! Fire Stamp!"

Claire watched in horror as Lavi was swallowed up by his own attack. She turned away as he sent his attack directly towards Road, turning her attention to trying to get Chaoji and Lenalee safely out. Now that the candles were no longer in her way, Claire had a better chance of saving them. She rested her hand against the side of the die as Lenalee began screaming and crying out Lavi's name. "Lenalee, calm down! It's going to be okay. You've just got to believe in Lavi and Allen. Everything's going to be okay. We're all going to go home together!"

Lenalee locked eyes with the little girl. For the first time, she noticed Claire was crying as well. She could see her own fear mirrored in Claire's eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry, Claire. I'm letting you down as your big sister."

Allen leapt up onto the top of the die, his sword drawn. "Claire, get Chaoji and Lenalee out of there. I'll save the idiot."

"Be careful, Allen!" Claire shouted.

Allen gave Claire a quick smile. "Don't worry. We're all going to go home together. I promise." He leapt into the flames and disappeared from their sight.

Claire hovered unsurely in front of the die for a moment. She didn't want to shoot her feathers at it, for fear that she may accidently injure Lenalee and Chaoji. She looked down at her shaking and burned hands. She tried to make a fist and winced. She wasn't going to be able to punch her way through… "Lenalee, scoot back." She began furiously kicking at the side of the die. She let all of her emotions out with each kick. The fear of losing everyone, the longing to return home, the confusion and pain at having to choose between her Noah family and her Black Order family, the sadness of losing a few of her family members already.

"That's enough, Claire!" Lenalee reached through the gaping hole the little girl had made in the side of the die. She gently touched Claire's cheek, and smiled when the she opened her eyes. "Oh, Claire."

Claire couldn't help it. She began bawling like a baby. She latched onto the front of Lenalee's shirt and sobbed for a few moments.

The whole time, Lenalee simply held the little angel and stroked her hair. "Claire, we have to get out. We need to make sure Lavi and Allen are okay."

Nodding her head, Claire wiped her tears away and released Lenalee. "I can't get you both down at once. Chaoji's too heavy."

"Gee, thanks." Chaoji grit out through his pain. "Take Lenalee down first. I'll be all right."

Claire gently flew Lenalee down to the ground, and then went back for Chaoji. She grunted as he latched on to her. As she was descending with Chaoji, the flames suddenly froze over, and everything was still and silent. Claire quickly put Chaoji on the ground. She flew around the ice, trying desperately to find Allen and Lavi. "I can't find them…" She whimpered in despair. A hand suddenly shot out in front of her, and she screamed in terror.

Allen pushed himself out of part of the ice with Lavi in tow. He struggled when he first felt a hand tugging on his own, but stopped when he saw it was Claire helping him out. The two looked at each other for a brief moment before laughing, tears streaming down both their faces. Allen hugged Claire to him and collapsed to the ground. "You reckless idiot." He said to Lavi.

"What about you?" Lavi protested. He reached out and gently touched one of Claire's wings. "I don't know what happened…I woke up, and I was on fire. The old man is probably going to yell at me…" His sentence was cut off by Lenalee punching him in the face.

Noticing the look of horror on Chaoji's face, Claire giggled. "Don't worry. That's just how she shows her love." She and the others all looked up as a seriously burned Road stood a few feet away from them, cackling madly. "That's not good…"


	36. Terror

**I am so sorry for the long wait between updates! School comes before everything else, even my own writing. I'll try to update more frequently. I've only got one more year of college, and the workload is definitely starting to kick my butt.**

**Sakura02: When is everybody really okay?**

**Thank you: Halley Vanaria, bored411, erica. phoenix16, Marshal Belinsky, and Angel-Levy for reviewing!**

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Claire stood uncertainly beside Lenalee as Road disappeared. She ignored the boys all fighting with each other. She wasn't even really sure what had started their fight. She tugged on Lenalee's hand until the older girl looked down at her. "Hey, Lenalee, Road's power was keeping the portal at the top of the tower open, right? So, what's going to happen now that she's gone?"

The boys stopped fighting, and they all looked at Claire. Lavi quickly pulled himself together. "I'll go up and see if the portal is still safe to use. If it is, I'll pull you all up."

While they waited for Lavi, Claire began fidgeting nervously with her hair. Kanda and Krory were still somewhere in the tower. There was no way she could just leave the tower. Not until she knew whether they were dead or alive. She yelped as she was suddenly whacked upside the head. She looked up at Lenalee with confusion. "What'd I do?"

Lenalee glared down at her. "You and Allen were thinking the exact same thing!"

Claire glanced over at Allen. "Well…we're the least hurt out of everyone. I want to go home with everyone, even Stupid Kanda."

Lenalee sighed and pulled Claire into a tight hug. "You're both so stupid."

Lavi finally sent his hammer down for the others to come up. Claire latched on to Allen's waist, but looked back over her shoulder. Lero was desperately trying to pull Tyki up the stairs, but to no avail. Claire moved to go to him, but they were pulled up by Lavi before she could do anything.

As soon as they were at the top, Claire unfurled her wings. It seemed she and Allen had the same idea once again, as Lavi had to grab both of them by their arms. "Let me go, Lavi! I have to save my daddy!"

"Are you crazy?" Lavi snapped, tightening his grip on both their arms.

"Tyki's inner Noah is dead, but he's still alive." Allen chimed in.

"My daddy isn't a bad person!" Claire cut in. Tears were already spilling down her cheek, and she was growing restless. "He's done bad things, but he loves me, and he loved my mommy. He didn't hurt my mommy. Someone else did."

"Why…why would you two want to help him?" Chaoji asked, his face blank. "They work with the Akuma. They're the enemy!"

Claire shuddered at Chaoji's face. "My daddy…"

"You! You're the child of a Noah, so you're my enemy too!" Chaoji finally screamed.

Claire took a step back, almost feeling like she'd been physically hit. None of the others had seemed to care about her parentage, but Chaoji certainly did. She wondered if the others at the Order would react like he did. She gasped as Allen suddenly shoved Chaoji out of the way, just as strange insect-like tendrils shot up through the ground. "Allen!"

Claire followed Allen back down to the lower level. She reached out and grabbed onto Allen's hand to try and pull him out. Instead, all she managed to do was get herself stuck as well. She gasped as her back connected with the hard ground below. Shakily, she sat up. She realized in horror that the portal had fallen along with her and Allen. A sudden cold chill went through her, and she looked up. "Daddy…?"

Tyki stood a few feet away from him. He was the source of the tendrils that had pulled them down to the ground. Something was different and very wrong with him. There was no light in his eyes, only a dead blank stare. Black blood dripped from his fingertips and down onto the ground. He let out an ear piercing shriek as the tendrils suddenly wrapped completely around him.

Allen immediately changed his Innocence arm into the Crown Clown sword. "Claire, stay behind him."

"I'm not letting you fight whatever that is by yourself." Claire held her wings back, ready to attack. "That's not my daddy anymore."

The tendrils suddenly dispersed. Where once Tyki had stood, a figure covered in black blood now stood before them. He was covered in black armor, with a black helmet covering his face. Just as quickly as he had appeared, he disappeared.

"Where did he…" Claire gasped as Allen was suddenly attacked. "Allen!" She quickly moved between Allen and Tyki. She shot her feathers at him, but they were easily deflected. She blinked and once again Tyki was gone. She gasped in pain. She didn't know what he'd done to her, but she could feel blood gushing through her clothes. She coughed violently, and stared up at the ceiling. She could hear Allen still fighting with Tyki. She tried to sit up, only to cause more blood to pour from her wounds. She blinked when she felt arms wrap around her. "Lavi?"

"I've got you." Lavi assured quietly. "Just hang on."

"That's not my daddy…" Claire whimpered out. "My daddy would never…"

"I know." Lavi whispered. He rushed forward and managed to grab Allen out of harm's way. "You just keep talking, and stay awake, okay?"

Claire flinched as they shot up into the air.

"Allen! Claire!" Lenalee gently took Claire from Lavi's grasp. "What happened?"

"Everyone, hold on to me!" Lavi shouted.

Claire saw Tyki, but wasn't able to warn the others in time. They were all thrown away from each other. Claire was still in Lenalee's arms, due to the firm grip the girl had on her. Ignoring how badly she hurt, Claire stood up. She flew at Tyki just as he flung Lavi to the side. She tried to stay out of Tyki's reach, and shot volley after volley of feathers at him. One of the tendrils grabbed her and slammed her roughly into the ground.

She blacked out for what felt like forever. When she came to, they were all on the lower floor, in some sort of dark liquid. There were only a few remnants of the stone work that had once adorned the tower. Shakily, she pushed herself into a sitting position. Lavi and Allen were unconscious a few feet away from her, and Chaoji was barely managing to keep himself sitting up. Tyki had Lenalee by the throat with one of his tendrils. Claire stood up, keeping her hands on her knees to try and keep herself up. "Let go…of Lenalee!"

She flew at Tyki and managed to kick him in the face. All she received for her efforts was a painful punch to her wounds. She landed a few feet away, gasping for breath. This wasn't at all how she pictured she would die. Not that she'd really pictured dying before this. She blinked as someone landed beside her. "Lenalee…I'm scared…"

Lenalee gasped in vain to try and catch her breath. She looked over at Claire. The little girl was covered in blood and dirt. Tears streaked Claire's cheeks. Lenalee shakily reached out and touched Claire's cheek. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay." She could hear the tower crumbling around them. "Just keep looking at me, okay? No matter what."

Claire waited for the inevitable impact of stone finishing them off. She reached out and held Lenalee's hand. Both girls were completely shocked when Chaoji stopped the stone from crushing any of them. A familiar feeling washed through Claire. "Innocence?"

"Lenalee, what's wrong with me?" Chaoji gasped out.

"You've synchronized with an Innocence Chaoji." Lenalee explained, trying to stay as calm as possible. "You have to stop, though. If you keep this up, you'll injure yourself."

"I can't!" Chaoji protested. "There's nowhere for us to run!" He looked up to see Tyki charging towards him to attack. He was surprised when Claire shakily placed herself between them. "Hey…what're you…"

"You saved my life, so I'm going to save yours." Claire answered. "Besides, you're an Exorcist now, so you're part of my family. I won't let anyone hurt my family." She took a deep breath, and sent the biggest volley of feathers she ever had before. She grinned as her feathers were joined by a hammer and sword. "Allen! Lavi!"

Allen gave her a shaky smile as he and Lavi stood on either side of her. "You okay, Claire?"

Claire nodded just before Allen and Lavi were blown away. Claire stood protectively in front of Lenalee as Tyki charged once again at them.

Allen managed to grab Tyki's attention. "Hey, aren't I the one you want to kill?"

"Allen, no!" Claire shouted as Tyki charged towards Allen. Just when she was sure that Allen would be killed, Tyki was flung away, and Allen disappeared. "Allen?"

"Claire Bear, didn't I tell you to take care of Allen. Of course, it doesn't seem like he's been taking very good care of you." A man stood on top of a giant coffin chained shut. He was holding Allen upside down by the boy's ankle.

Claire's eyes lit up, her wounds momentarily forgotten. "Master Cross!"


End file.
